New report from the 'Study on Hydrogen in Ports and Industrial Coastal Areas' now published

Member States, EU and ports should act now to put in place an enabling environment for faster scaling up of hydrogen activities and infrastructure in ports areas, shows new study carried out by Deloitte Belgium for the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.  

Brussels, Belgium – 20 September 2023 – The growing demand and supply of hydrogen (carriers) will open far-reaching opportunities for European ports, which are natural gateways for hydrogen and hydrogen carrier flows. The study informs stakeholders and policymakers on the areas of priority for overcoming technological, safety and non-technical (policy, regulatory, governance, strategic) gaps for the timely development of hydrogen related activities and infrastructure in EU port areas.

Clean hydrogen, especially of renewable origin (i.e., green hydrogen), has consolidated during the past years its prominent position in the EU's energy transition policies and is expected to be critical in substituting fossil gas, coal, and oil in some heavy industries (e.g., refineries, ammonia, steel, chemicals) and hard-to-decarbonize transportation (i.e., shipping, aviation, heavy duty road freight).

According to the REPowerEU Plan, the “development of port infrastructure and their connection to both industrial and transport users in the vicinity will be of critical importance” for increasing the demand for renewable hydrogen in Europe to 20 million tonnes per year in 2030. In this context, the Clean Hydrogen Partnership published in March 2023 a first study, conducted by Deloitte, which provides detailed outlooks of the potential hydrogen demand and supply in European ports and coastal areas in 2030, 2040 and 2050, along with the required hydrogen value chain infrastructure and a no-regrets investment roadmap. It also provides an overview of the various possible roles that a port could fulfil in Europe's future hydrogen economy.

Therefore, a thorough understanding of the implications, requirements, and opportunities of the accelerated emergence of the clean hydrogen market for port areas is a prerequisite for a successful transition. 

Building on the results from the first study, Deloitte, with the support of the specialized consultancy TNO, carried out on behalf of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership a three-level analysis aiming at identifying current technological (R&I) challenges, gaps in safety regulations, codes and standards and non-technical (policy, regulatory, governance, strategic) barriers for various hydrogen activities and infrastructure that are expected to be rolled out in ports, and port areas. The study also includes specific recommendations to overcome the challenges identified for each of these areas.

Summary of the key recommendations to port authorities and other port stakeholders  

1. Port authorities should engage with other relevant port-related stakeholders (i.e., terminal operators, fuel producers, fuel storage tanks owners, bunkering companies, shipping companies, ship owners, local electricity grid operators, local industrial clusters, etc.) and systematically assess the techno-economic rationale and societal relevance for the development of hydrogen (carriers)-related activities and infrastructure in the port area (e.g., import terminal, bunkering, hydrogen production, storage and/or conversion, multi-modal refueling stations, use as a fuel in ships, etc.). 
2. In those instances where the development of hydrogen (carrier) related activities is assessed as positive or likely to be positive in the coming years, port authorities are encouraged to 1) set up a hydrogen working group composed of representatives of local authorities as well as private stakeholders operating in the port ecosystem and 2) develop a clear roadmap with key milestones, conditions, and organizational structure for the successful and safe integration of these hydrogen-related activities in the port area.
3. In an effort to develop a more integrated and coordinated approach to coastal energy and infrastructure (e.g., import terminals, bunkering, storage tanks, conversion facilities, etc.) planning, coalitions or framework agreements should be developed between port authorities, key other relevant port-related stakeholders and neighboring connecting ports.
4. Port authorities should actively contribute to establishing the necessary technical, economic and regulatory framework in the port area to encourage port-related stakeholders to timely develop and/or operate hydrogen (carrier) related activities and infrastructure. 
5. The European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) and the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) could act as a trusted advisor to the EU political legislator and Member State policy-makers and support port authorities and other relevant port stakeholders on the specific regulatory, policy, governance and socio-economic enablers needed to encourage cross-border cooperation and faster development of hydrogen-related activities and infrastructure in maritime and inland port areas.​​

Summary of the key recommendations to governments of EU Member States

1. Member States should consider including specific provisions in their respective national hydrogen strategy for the timely development of integrated hydrogen-related infrastructure along coastal areas under national jurisdiction.
2. In the framework of their national hydrogen strategy, Member States are encouraged to promote and facilitate greater regional coordination, integration and mutualization (at the level of coastal areas) for the development of hydrogen-related activities and infrastructure (e.g., storage and distribution). To this end, Member States could work towards the development of integrated cross border hydrogen valleys involving several sea and inland ports.
3. Member States are advised to allocate direct public funding to pioneers in the EU port areas that are launching investments in R&I and market-ready projects aiming at demonstrating or decreasing the cost of import, production, storage, conversion, transport, refueling and end-use of hydrogen (liquid and gaseous form) and hydrogen carriers in a port environment.

Summary of the key recommendations from the study to the EU policy makers

1. Complementary to national funding programs, the EU could consider to allocate public funding (e.g., through CEF-Energy, IPCEI, Horizon Europe, Clean Hydrogen Partnership, ZEWT Partnership, etc.) to pioneers in the EU port areas that are launching investments in R&I and market-ready projects aiming at demonstrating or decreasing the cost of import, production, storage, conversion, transport, refueling and end-use of hydrogen (liquid and gaseous form) and hydrogen carriers in a port environment.
2. The EU should encourage the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop prescriptive harmonized international regulations as well as technical and safety standards for 
   • the sea-based transportation of hydrogen, 
   • import terminals of hydrogen and LOHC, 
   • the bunkering of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels and 
   • the utilization of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels in deep-see and short-sea applications. 
3. Building on future updated IMO and ISO regulatory framework (see above), the EU is advised to work with the relevant regulatory and standardization authorities (e.g., CCNR, CESNI, CEN and CENELEC) to develop prescriptive harmonized EU-wide regulations, clear guidelines to Member States on administrative practices and permitting procedures, as well as technical and safety standards for 
   • the transportation of hydrogen on inland waterway vessels, 
   • the bunkering of hydrogen/hydrogen-based fuels in inland ports, 
   • the utilization of hydrogen/ hydrogen-based fuels in inland waterway ships and hydrogen-based cold ironing systems,
   • the construction and operation of multi-modal stationary hydrogen refueling stations in port areas, 
   • cargo handling and other terminal equipment powered by hydrogen/hydrogen-based fuels, 
   • hydrogen carrier conversion facilities (ammonia crackers, LOHC dehydrogenation),
   • the transportation of gaseous and LH2 by rail in the EU and 
   • the large-scale inherently safe production of hydrogen.

Download here the full report and the executive summary

About the Study on hydrogen in ports and industrial coastal areas

Although the transformations expected in ports as a result of the emergence of a European hydrogen economy are specific to each port, with different implications expected for sea and inland ports, the recommendations on strategic actions for port authorities and other port-related stakeholders outlined in this report are intended to encompass the entire European port ecosystem, and are therefore not tailored to any particular port archetype (e.g., seaport or inland port, logistics and transport, urban, industrial, or bunkering). The report is designed in such a way as to allow port authorities (of all port archetypes) and other port-related stakeholders to navigate easily through the relevant considerations for hydrogen (carriers) related activities of interest to them (depending on the port's specific activities and strategy).

Throughout the course of the study, several plenary and bilateral consultations with members of the Advisory Board for this project and other key port-related stakeholders took place for maximum relevance and completeness of the analysis and conclusions.

The ‘Study on hydrogen in ports and industrial coastal areas’ comprises several phases, with this report being the second in a series of three reports that will all be released by the end of 2023. 

The first report, released on March 30th 2023 (click here to access it), uses a scenario-based approach to provide detailed outlooks of the potential hydrogen demand and supply in European ports and coastal areas in 2030, 2040 and 2050, along with the required hydrogen value chain infrastructure and a no-regrets investment roadmap. It also provides an overview of the various possible roles that a port could fulfil in Europe's future hydrogen economy. 

The third report, expected to be released in November 2023, will examine several case studies highlighting the techno-economic feasibility of developing a range of hydrogen-related activities and infrastructures in the vicinity of ports. 

In parallel, the organization of multiple European Hydrogen Ports Network events all along the duration of this study creates impetus for the main European representatives of the port ecosystem to come together, exchange, connect and take a long-term perspective on hydrogen take-up in European ports. 

These activities aim to enable the creation of a 'European Hydrogen Ports Roadmap'.

About the Clean Hydrogen Partnership

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is a unique public private partnership supporting research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. Its aim is to strengthen and integrate EU scientific capacity, to accelerate the development and improvement of advanced clean hydrogen applications. The three members of the Partnership are the European Commission, fuel cell and hydrogen industries represented by Hydrogen Europe and the research community represented by Hydrogen Europe Research.