Northern ports become energy hub for Northwest Europe

The role of ports in the energy transition

The three northern Dutch ports, Groningen Seaports, Port of Den Helder, and Port of Amsterdam, have the potential to develop into major energy hubs in Northwest Europe in the coming decades. This is evident from the study "Havenschets' by New Energy Coalition in collaboration with the University of Groningen and TNO on the role of these ports in the energy transition. The study shows that close collaboration can lead to significant synergy benefits, with cost savings of up to €300 million per year for the Dutch energy system. The final report of the two-year TKI study was presented this week to provincial executives Nienke Homan of the Province of Groningen and Edward Stigter of the Province of Noord-Holland.

The need for green forms of gas, including hydrogen, particularly for the industrial and mobility sectors, is acute and enormous (see also below). Besides use as a resource, some electricity in Northwest Europe will also have to be converted into hydrogen, if only to prevent congestion problems on the electricity grid.

Hydrogen from offshore wind

The expectation is that, in addition to imports, 'own' production of CO₂-neutral hydrogen is becoming increasingly important due to security of supply and geopolitical considerations. The significant increase in electricity production from North Sea wind, in particular, offers opportunities to convert part of it into hydrogen at a cost-effective rate. This requires significant investment in technologies that enable the production, transport, storage, and processing of hydrogen from offshore wind.

The now-published study shows, under various scenarios, that the combined production of green hydrogen in the northern port areas could grow to as much as 300 PJ (approximately 16 Gigawatts): comparable to the current natural gas consumption in Dutch industry. Furthermore, a combination with blue hydrogen could add a further capacity of up to 290 PJ (9 Gigawatts).

Strategic position of northern ports

Hydrogen production and transport will typically be concentrated in port areas with strong infrastructure connections to the new wind farms and where (imported) hydrogen can be bunkered. Given their specific strategic location relative to the new offshore wind areas in the Dutch part of the North Sea and their connection to existing strategic onshore and offshore infrastructure, it is obvious that the northern port regions of Amsterdam, Den Helder, and Groningen will occupy a key position as energy hubs in the Northwest European energy system in the coming decades.

This requires significant investments and awareness of the strategic position of these ports in the energy transition. It is therefore crucial that not only the ports themselves, but also the national government and the EU, recognize the strategic position of these northern ports for the development of a low-carbon economy, for example, by explicitly linking them to the TEN-E and TEN-T networks.[1].

Collaboration pays off

The diversity of the three port regions strengthens the broad range of energy services they can provide together, covering the entire hydrogen value chain:

• Groningen Seaports: extensive chemical industry and proximity to large-scale storage facilities provides a favorable position as a production and transport location for green hydrogen
• Port of Den Helder: available offshore gas transport infrastructure and proximity to offshore wind locations provide a favorable position for blue and green hydrogen activities
• Port of Amsterdam: its status in the import of liquid bulk offers an optimal profile for development as a major hydrogen import location, as well as a location for fuel conversion and as a location for large-scale deployment of hydrogen and hydrogen products in the steel industry, aviation, and bunkering.

[1] These are infrastructure networks, more specifically in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy. EU provides a subsidy for this from the cohesion fundThe development of trans-European networks should contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market and strengthen economic and social cohesion.

Need for green molecules

Europe aims to be (almost) completely CO2 neutral in 2050. To achieve this, the entire energy system must be rapidly greened. This means that all electricity must be generated using sustainable sources (wind, solar, hydropower, etc.), but also that all energy molecules (gases such as natural gas and hydrogen) must be CO2 neutral. Europe is making good progress with green electricity (currently approximately 20% of final energy demand), but the greening of energy molecules (currently approximately 80% of final energy demand) is progressing less smoothly: currently, approximately 10% of gas sales are green, but this is not expected to increase significantly before 2030 unless a rapid transition to large-scale hydrogen deployment takes place. While the role of electricity in energy consumption is expected to increase towards 2050, energy molecules (such as hydrogen) will remain a significant component of the energy supply due to their high energy density (temperature) and relatively low transport and storage costs.

The role of the northern ports as an energy hub for North-Western Europe requires further intensification of mutual cooperation, the foundation for which was laid in 2019 with Hydroports. Intensive cooperation can yield numerous synergy benefits. These benefits depend primarily on the realisation of a hydrogen backbone that connects the three ports with each other and with the hinterland. To maximize the potential of the three Noord-NederlandTo optimally utilise the ports as an energy hub, a connection to the backbone of all three ports is crucial. The Havenschets study shows that if the backbone connection is in place, coordinated collaboration could deliver annual system savings of around €100–€300 million.