Zero Emission : Port of Rotterdam, A Growing Green Energy Hub

For centuries, Europe’s largest port has been a vital cog in the wheel of global trade and a crucial contributor to Dutch prosperity and employment. In the last few years however, the port has garnered international attention for something new: It’s becoming a widely recognized hub for automation innovation and sustainability.

As part of Rotterdam’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050, the city’s port — that currently contributes nearly 20% of the country’s climate-changing gases — is setting sail to become a climate role model through renewable energy production, circular energy solutions and digitization. Here are three key features of the port’s transformation:

INDUSTRY 4.0 and renewables

Being one of the busiest ports in the world isn’t enough for Rotterdam, it also wants to be one of the smartest. In August, the port’s Innovation Dock launched the test phase of its energy market for renewables. The port’s subsidiary, Blocklab, uses blockchain technology, smart contracts and artificial intelligence to support the trading of renewable energy by commercial consumers.

• The system matches demand with the intermittent power generated from different sources, specifically solar and battery storage. Each market participant is allocated an AI energy-trading agent that learns its behavior and needs in order to provide energy at an optimal price.
• So far, the trial has involved 20 million blockchain-validated transactions, which lowered the cost for commercial users by 11% and ramped up revenues of local renewables producers 14%. In addition, the system increased the consumption of on-site solar generation by 92%.
• Smart contracts are used in the high-frequency trading system to enforce market rules, validate transactions and manage digital identities.
  
  

HYDROGEN HUB

The port of Rotterdam is also set to play a key role in the Netherlands’ hydrogen strategy which was unveiled in March. With the aim of becoming a worldwide trader of hydrogen, the government plans to leverage the country’s extensive gas network and geographical location at the heart of Europe’s industrial north.

• The Port Authority plans to build a public hydrogen network as part of a joint sustainability venture with Shell and partners. The project includes the Shell-led construction of a hydrogen plant in the port area set for completion in 2023, and a pipeline to transport the hydrogen to Shell’s nearby refinery in Pernis.
• Besides accommodating production, the port also aims to play a crucial part in the import of hydrogen through the construction of multiple hydrogen terminals.
• Portuguese and Dutch government ministers have signed a memorandum of understanding to connect Portugal’s hydrogen project in the port city of Sines to the port of Rotterdam. The intention is to establish a strategic export-import value chain to ensure the production and transport of green hydrogen, while cooperating to remove regulatory barriers and introduce common standards for hydrogen at the EU level.
  
  

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Another part of the port’s strategy for reducing its carbon footprint is the diversification of renewable energy sources. In that vein, the Port Authority and Shell Geothermal BV are investigating the possibilities for geothermal energy in the western section of the port.

• If geothermal heat can be brought to the surface as hot water, it could become an additional part of Rotterdam’s renewable energy mix, particularly for the production of steam for companies located in the port. Once the water has passed through industry and been cooled slightly, the remaining heat could be used to heat homes and greenhouses via a regional energy network.
• The Port Authority and Shell have already received an exploration permit and the subsurface of the port’s western section has been thoroughly mapped out. The focus in the coming year will be to reach agreements with geothermal energy purchasers, determine the location for test drilling and to model the necessary infrastructure.

ENGIE EYE

In June, ENGIE, together with technology group Wärtsilä, ING Bank, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, launched Zero Emission Services B.V. (ZES). The aim of this new venture — which has the support of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management — is to allow diesel-fueled propulsion barges to switch to fully electric propulsion thanks to ZESPacks, replaceable battery containers.

Each container ship using this system can reduce its carbon emissions by 1,000 tons per year. Currently inland waterway shipping accounts for 5% of carbon emissions within the Netherlands transport sector.