King Willem-Alexander conducted a working visit to the port of Rotterdam. Hydrogen was the dominant theme of the visit.
Rotterdam receives over three times the entire energy consumption of the Netherlands on a yearly basis. This equates to 13% of the European Union’s overall energy requirements. Rotterdam, as an energy port in Northwestern Europe, has a bold sustainability plan that includes electrification and hydrogen. The focus is on green hydrogen generation, hydrogen derived from residual gases, pipeline infrastructure for transporting hydrogen, as well as import and application in industry and transportation. The hydrogen aspirations of the port of Rotterdam were explained to King Willem-Alexander during his visit.
During a voyage along the Maasvlakte, the King discussed hydrogen projects at the port of Rotterdam with Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Randolf Weterings, program manager of Electrification & Hydrogen, and Alice Krekt, head of the Deltalinqs climate program. Various companies explained the hydrogen value chain based on developments on various projects: from import and export to hydrogen production in the port, the growth of demand in industry and hydrogen transportation, and the construction of hydrogen pipelines (the so-called “H2 backbone” by the harbor and the “Delta Corridor” further towards North Rhine-Westphalia via Chemelot). The requirement for hydrogen in Germany was underlined by ThyssenKrupp Staal.
The trip was followed by a visit to Neste, where Bart Leenders, Vice President of Global Production, discussed Neste’s sustainability efforts and the role hydrogen plays in this process. Finally, representatives from several enterprises in the port presented the King with their hydrogen issues.
King Willem-Alexander previously launched the first significant test installation for green hydrogen in Hystock (2019) and talked about the importance of hydrogen for the Netherlands and the energy transition at the “Wind Meets Gas” (2021) convention. During many national and international tours, the topic of hydrogen was also covered.
