Latest North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Community Information Bulletin Published

The fourth North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Community (NS HyMaP) Information Bulletin has been published.  Below we have published the introduction to the Newsletter which previews  the news articles  in the publication.  If you would like to receive the full Bulletin, please contact Jon Jordan at [email protected] 

A reminder that membership of NS HyMaP will be free until 31 August 2020 and we would like to develop other forms of communications such as a website, podcasts and webinars. The Information Bulletin is published on a fortnightly basis. This initial period will also allow us to begin discussions to make NS HyMaP a more permanent and influential organisation.

European Policy Solutions provides the Secretariat for NS HyMaP and we welcome both news articles and opinion pieces. If you would like to submit a piece in future, please let us know at [email protected]

In the last bulletin, we featured the Dutch National Hydrogen Strategy and, in this Bulletin, we begin with a brief outline of the German National hydrogen Strategy which was unveiled by the Federal Government on 10 June. The Strategy is an ambitious one and it aims to make Germany a global leader in hydrogen technologies. The Federal Government wants to increase its electrolyser capacity to 10 GW by 2040 and through sector coupling link to a wide range of hydrogen applications including ports and maritime transport. International and EU co-operation is emphasised in the Strategy and Germany will start its six month term as European Council President on 1 July. It is an opportune time to influence the developing EU Hydrogen Strategy.

The European Commission continues to make progress towards a Hydrogen Strategy and its role in the Energy System Integration will be a key one. DG Energy has drafted a Roadmap on its proposals for Smart integration Strategy and comments closed early last week. The Bulletin outlines this Roadmap and we await Commissioner Simson’s proposals for Energy System Integration later this month.
The Bulletin looks at the moves towards a Zero Emission Waterborne Transport System as a key part of the Horizon Europe Programme. The Waterborne Transport Platform and the European Commission have put together proposals for a Zero Emission Waterborne Transport European Partnership. One of the major objectives is “to develop and demonstrate deployable technological solutions which will be applicable for the decarbonisation and elimination of other emissions of relevant ships and services.” Membership would be through the Waterborne Transport Platform at €3000 a year.

The new EU Innovation Fund is of particular interest to ports and the maritime sector. The first Call is expected shortly for large projects of over €7.5 million and the total programme funding in the First Call will be €1 billion. Further information about the Fund was given at an Online Expert Group meeting and is summarised in the Bulletin below. Next, we look at a very ambitious project in Greater Copenhagen led by Ørsted. It has formed a consortium to develop and deliver the project with Copenhagen Airports, A.P. Moller – Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, and SAS. to develop an industrial-scale production facility to produce sustainable hydrogen fuels for road, maritime and air transport in the Copenhagen area. The project is in its early stages but could produce 1.3 GW of electrolyser production by 2030 if the project goes to plan.

With the suspension of conferences, webinars continue to thrive and we have a detailed account of the latest Hydrogen Europe webinar which looked at the increasing role of hydrogen in ports and maritime transport and the effects of major projects like the Greater Copenhagen hydrogen project on the development of a hydrogen economy and hydrogen valleys.

The provision of investment capital will be an important factor if hydrogen is to play a major role in the North Sea ports and maritime sector. We look at a report from Carbon Tracker which looks at the growing vulnerability of the fossil fuel industry in terms of reduced profits, price falls and the effect of these factors on investor confidence. Perhaps this will herald a switch to investment in hydrogen in the near future.

We return to Webinars to finish the Bulletin with a report on the Riviera Maritime Media Webinar “Fuel Cells: Addressing the Key Challenges” while the final item previews the IPHE Virtual global Hydrogen Forum which will beheld this Thursday (18 June) and includes a presentation from Kedri Simson, the EU Energy Commissioner.

STOP PRESS – Last Friday Michaela Kendall, Chief Executive of NS HyMaP Member Adelan was named as Mission Innovation UK Champion. Adelan, the Birmingham fuel cell company, was founded by Michaela in 1992. There are 21 Mission Innovation Champions around the World nominated for their significant role in clean energy transition. Congratulations Michaela!