The Port of Rotterdam Authority is offering grants to companies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the port area.
The initiative, called Carbonbid, offers grants totaling €3.5mn ($3.96mn) and focuses on emissions both from logistics and industry. Parties can register to submit a bid before 18 July and apply for up to €700,000 for their project. Plans with the highest reduction per euro requested will be considered first, until the Carbonbid budget has been spent. In January 2026, contracts will be negotiated with the parties that have been awarded funding.
Eligible projects have not yet started, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100t, and will be implemented in the port area by 2030.
In addition to companies based in the port, participants could include start-ups, service providers, and manufacturers of machinery and equipment. Carbonbid focuses on reducing emissions from activities for which there are currently few other regulations. For this reason, emissions covered by the European Emissions Trading System are excluded from Carbonbid. The port authority expects that mainly medium-sized and small companies will participate, as well as larger companies with relatively low emissions.
"We are already working on many different projects for the energy and raw materials transition," port authority commercial director Matthijs van Doorn said. The port provides a rent discount to customers that invest in sustainability.
Rotterdam port data for the first quarter show marine biodiesel blend sales declined by 12pc compared with the previous three months and by 60pc compared with the same period last year. The decline was underpinned by lower prices in Singapore. LNG bunker sales in Rotterdam fell by the 13pc on the quarter in January-March, reflecting a price rally at the Dutch TTF gas hub in late January and early February.
