DE
A startup from Erlangen, Germany is advancing the development of a liquid organic hydrogen carrier. With various corporations like Bilfinger und Schaeffler, the technology company is trying to make the innovative solution for green hydrogen more economical worldwide. At the end of 2023, the largest storage and release plant thus far is to appear in Chempark Dormagen, near Cologne. It should be able to produce and store 1,800 tonnes of hydrogen annually. Demand is widely abundant.
All eyes will be on Rotterdam in March 2022 when the city will host its first-ever global hydrogen summit and exhibition. The Dutch region, which is home to Europe’s largest port, has its sights set on becoming a hydrogen hub, at least that is the intention set out in the country’s energy strategy. The Dutch government sees the international trade in hydrogen gas as a great opportunity – assuming that a pan-European pipeline project doesn’t get in the way.
Rotterdam is not only the largest port in Europe, it is playing a key role in the German hydrogen strategy. Stijn van Els has been working since January 2020 as director of commercial delivery at the port, which belongs 70 percent to the municipality of Rotterdam and 30 percent to the Netherlands. After studying at a German Hochschule, van Els studied physics in Delft and then started as an engineer at Shell. He’s been working around the world for 30 -years and in Hamburg as head of Shell Germany. H2-international spoke with him about the role of the port for the European hydrogen economy.
