Target Zero Conference – Places Still Available

There are still a limited number of places available for the Target Zero Conference to be held in Brussels next Tuesday (11 February 2020.)  The Conference is the Second North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Conference.  It is organised by European Policy Solutions with the support of Nedstack and CMB Technologies.

There is a packed Agenda with speakers from the European Commission and from the hydrogen, ports, and maritime communities in the North Sea.   Participants will hear about the European Commission’s policy intentions in the 2021-2027 EU Budget round and recent developments using hydrogen applications in the North Sea Region.

The Opening Address will be given by Tudor Constantinescu, the Principal Advisor in DG Energy and he will examine the role of energy policy in the EU’s new Green Deal.  He will be followed by Robert Missen, Head of Research and innovation at DG Move and by Peter Crawley from the Waterborne Unit of DG Research.  Bart Biebuyck, the Executive Director of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Joint Undertaking (FCH-JU)  will also speak.  Bart will look at the current activities of the FCH-JU; the present project Call which includes shipping and islands ;and the ambitions of the FCH-JU from 2021.  The section will finish with a look at the North Sea INTERREG Programme with Albin Hunia, the Dutch Contact Point.  He will look at the use of hydrogen  in ports and maritime projects funded by North Sea INTERREG Programme  and  he will examine the prospects for the new Programme.

The role of hydrogen in Port Activities and Strategies will be discussed in the Conference with contributions from Kees Turnhout, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Port of den Helder and Wim Stubbe, Business  Dvelopemnt Manager at the Port of Oostende.  The Port Opportunities offered by the Renewable Energy Directive 2 will be outlined by Wouter Vanhoudt from Hinicio.

As well as examining the ports sector, the Conference will look at the use of hydrogen in the shipping and maritime industry.  The session will begin with Paul Turner from CMB Technologies considering the role of incremental  innovation in the development of hydrogen applications.  Arnoud van de Bree, Chief executive of Nedstack will look at the development of hydrogen fuel cells for the Maritime Industry.  Ase Bye from PowerCell will then outline the Hydrogen Market Opportunities in Norway and the  session will conclude with a presentation from Celine Audenaerdt from the Port of Antwerp in the development of their Hydrotug.

It is crucial that developments in the North Sea can be seen in the context of National and International Initiatives.   Three such initiative will be presented.  At the national level, the United Kingdom Government agreed a Clean Maritime Plan in July 2019 and the delivery of the Plan has already started.  Alex Beaumont from the UK’s Department of Transport will outline the Strategy and the progress made in its implementation.  At an international level, the UN Climate Action Summit in September saw the formation of the Getting to Zero Coalition for the maritime industry and there has also been a Green Finance initiative known as the ‘Poseidon Principles.’  Carlo Raucci from U-MAS will make a presentation about the formation of these Groups.  Lastly in this section, Madadh Maclaine, the Secretary General of the newly formed Zero Emission Shipping Technology Association (Zestas) will explain the background to its formation and development.

The last session will discuss the formation of the North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Community (NS HyMaP) with a Panel Discussion led by Ase Bye (PowerCell), Jon Jordan (European Policy Solutions) and Patrick Cnubben (New Energy Coalition.)

The Conference Agenda is a packed one  with many stimulating speakers.  There are a limited amount of seats still available and further details and Booking Forms can be found on the European Policy Solution website http://www.europeanpolciysolutions.com.  You can also contact Jon on +44 1259 781404 or +44  776 476 4773.