European ports to be key hydrogen demand centres: study

Hydrogen demand in EU port areas could reach 22mn t/yr by 2050, accounting for nearly half of the bloc's overall consumption, according a study by consulting firm Deloitte.

The EU's overall hydrogen demand could be as high as 53mn t/yr by 2050, of which 15-20pc could be for ammonia and e-methanol, Deloitte said in the study commissioned by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a public-private initiative partly funded by the EU. This means that consumption in ports and their vicinity could account for around 42pc of total demand.

Industry and the transport sector will be key users for hydrogen in port areas. In these sectors, demand in and around ports could make up 50pc of the EU's total, Deloitte said. Many ports host key industrial sites that may have to rely heavily on low-carbon hydrogen to cut their emissions, such as refineries, chemicals factories and steelmaking facilities. And hydrogen and derivatives may have a key role to play in decarbonising shipping. Deloitte projects industry will account for 42pc of overall hydrogen demand in ports by 2050 and the international shipping sector another 31pc.

The firm analysed 427 seaports and inland ports across the EU. The bulk of the hydrogen demand is expected to come from port areas in northwest Europe, which is home to a dense network of industrial sites and key bunkering ports like Rotterdam.

Besides being major demand centres, ports will also have a crucial role to play in providing hydrogen supply for the continent. They could host large production sites for hydrogen from renewable power and from natural gas with carbon capture and storage, while Europe will also depend heavily on seaborne imports to meet its demand. Deloitte projected that at least 60pc of all of the EU's imports will be transported on ships, while the share is even above 90pc in some of the firm's scenarios.

Several modes of seaborne hydrogen transport are typically considered as possible options, including transport as ammonia or liquid hydrogen and the use of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). Deloitte's study focused on ammonia as a vector, with the authors concluding that major investments would be needed in three large port clusters to enable import of ammonia and reconversion into hydrogen via cracking. These are located in northwest Europe, the Baltic Sea region and the Adriatic Sea.

Ports are gearing up for future large-scale hydrogen imports, especially in northwest Europe. But not all are open for ammonia imports, with the port of Amsterdam dismissing the option because of safety risks and looking at alternatives such as LOHCs.

The IEA warned earlier this year that a lack of infrastructure, including at ports, poses a threat to the build-up of a low-carbon hydrogen economy and to the energy transition as a whole.

By Stefan Krumpelmann