Bilbao and Amsterdam sign agreement to develop new European Renewable Hydrogen Corridor
Yesterday, Port of Bilbao and Port of Amsterdam, together with the Energy Agency of the Basque Government (EVE), Petronor, SkyNRG, Evos Amsterdam and Zenith Energy Terminals, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to join forces for the development of a renewable hydrogen corridor between Bilbao and Amsterdam, according to the Port of Amsterdam's release. The corridor will focus on the maritime route between the two ports.
The MoU states the parties will team up to develop a renewable hydrogen supply chain, focusing on production in the Basque Country and export to the Netherlands and the European hinterland through the port of Amsterdam. This fits with the wider Basque Hydrogen Strategy, developed by EVE, which is aimed at both local usage and international markets, and the Dutch government's stimulation of the production, import and use of hydrogen.
The port of Bilbao is part of the Basque Hydrogen Corridor, a collaboration spearheaded by Petronor and Repsol to decarbonise the energy, industrial, residential and mobility sectors. Petronor is committed to developing a broad range of renewable fuels and to creating a hub in Bilbao that will compose a synthetic fuels plant and an urban waste processing project.
Thus, Petronor and Repsol, together with EVE and other companies, are developing the construction of electrolysers for the production of renewable hydrogen, with a total capacity of 113 MW, and a demonstration plant for the production of hydrogen-based e-fuels, the first synthetic fuel plaint in Spain. They are developing another project focused on a municipal waste pyrolysis plant, which aligns with Repsol’s strategy of promoting the circular economy. It will make use of cutting-edge technologies to decarbonise processes in Petronor.
These projects will set a new benchmark in Europe and are on the leading edge of the development of net-zero emissions fuels. Hydrogen based fuels, e-fuels and methanol are promising solutions to cope with both transport and maritime needs.
Port of Amsterdam is the operator of Europe’s fourth-largest port and is strongly committed to developing green hydrogen facilities within its port area, as well as establishing import corridors for green hydrogen and its derivatives. One of the prominent industrial sectors supplied by the port of Amsterdam is the aviation industry. The port features a direct connection to one of Europe’s largest airports, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
