The Importance of North Sea Ports in the European Hydrogen Economy

There has been a growing recognition in the European Union and amongst North Sea States of the pivotal role that hydrogen and its derivatives will play in a climate neutral EU and the strategic importance of North Sea Ports will hold in the developing hydrogen economy.

North Sea ports will play a key role not only in the import of hydrogen and its derivatives but also in the production of domestic renewable hydrogen due to the close proximity of renewable energy sources that can be converted into hydrogen. In addition, the maritime sector will become a major end-user of hydrogen as a hard-to-abate sector.

REPower EU also looked at the creation of hydrogen import corridors and one of these corridors covered the North Sea. It also calls for Green Hydrogen Partnerships in partner countries . REPowerEU estimated the cost of hydrogen pipelines at between EUR 28-38 billion and between EUR 6-11 billion for hydrogen storage.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has also been active in the reduction of emissions in the maritime sector and has produced demanding emissions reduction targets. It is now developing strategies so that these ambitious targets can be achieved.

In summary, the role of North Sea ports will be critical for a number of reasons including :
• Use of hydrogen and its derivatives in port and port regions’ decarbonisation strategies
• Decarbonising the maritime sector which is a hard-to-abate sector and will need to bunker hydrogen and its derivatives to achieve national, EU and IMO emission targets.
• Development of Hydrogen Valleys where ports are in close proximity to renewable energy sources such as offshore wind
• The import of hydrogen and its derivatives and the designation of the North Sea as a major import corridor for the EU.

However, there is much to do if North Sea ports are to fulfil this crucial role. The use of hydrogen and its derivatives in the ports and maritime sectors is at an early stage and ports and policymakers need to work together to ensure that progress is made to achieve hydrogen and net zero targets. In May 2022, the REPowerEU Plan committed the EU to “accelerating hydrogen” production and use and re-asserted its commitment to produce 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production and 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen imports by 2030.

This activity has led to a growing number of academic reports about the international hydrogen trade with the conclusion that this trade is in its infancy and still has many challenges and barriers to overcome. The Clean Hydrogen JU has recognised the growing importance of ports in hydrogen ecosystems and published three reports on ports in 2023. These reports should form the basis of a Hydrogen Research and Innovation Strategy for North Sea Ports.

It is widely acknowledged that there are major challenges and barriers in the decarbonisation of port areas and port regions and the role that ports will be play as importers and exporters of hydrogen and its derivatives. These challenges include the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen in port regions and in the import and export of hydrogen and its derivatives. Ports’ readiness for hydrogen international trade is still at an early stage and challenges the infrastructure construction or renovation, risk management measures, establishment of regulations and standards, education and training all require further efforts. There are issues with bunkering and the safety issues associate with the handling of hydrogen and its derivatives. A major consideration is the long ‘lead in’ times for capital projects such as import terminals and pipeline infrastructure – even if the pipeline is being re-purposed.

The Fourth North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Conference will be held in Brussels on Thursday 27 February 2025.  It will examine a number of issues raised in this article.  For further information please go the European Policy Solutions website follow the seminars link http://www.europeanpolicysolutions.com