The Port of Duisburg is to house the new European headquarters for hydrogen solutions provider Plug Power in a bid to grow its green hydrogen economy.
The new location for the headquarters will allow Plug Power to capitalise on major assets of the Duisburg region’s industrial area including a large concentration of logistics and transport customers and a skilled workforce. The port will also offer the company direct maritime supply chain connections to Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The facility is said to be 70,000-square-foot and will house an innovation centre with engineering labs, a monitoring, diagnostics, and technical support centre, an on-site electrolyser enabling green hydrogen production, an inventory and logistics centre, and a training space.
The logistics areas of the port can also accommodate future expansion if needed, enabling the company to meet its growth plans in Europe.
“Plug Power intends to play an important role in the development of green hydrogen in Europe and to contribute significantly to the European hydrogen strategy,” commented Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “Our establishment of a headquarters in the Port of Duisburg supports our ambitious objectives for leading the build-out of a global green hydrogen ecosystem.”
Markus Bangen, CEO of the Port of Duisburg, added “Sustainability is a decisive economic factor. The port has been working for years to establish climate-neutral transport structures and to actively shape the energy transition in the region’s transport and logistics sector.
“Hydrogen will take on a central role in the future and is a critical element for the industrial and logistics industries in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the Port of Duisburg. We are, therefore, very pleased to welcome Plug Power’s European headquarters to the port, advancing the development of this location as the centre of hydrogen in Germany and NRW.”
Sören Link, Mayor for the City of Duisburg, also commented “The location of Plug Power’s European headquarters in the Port of Duisburg underscores the international importance of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. The city of Duisburg, one of the most important business locations in NRW, is setting the course for an energy transition.”
The Port of Duisburg has previously made significant investments in capital and financial assets. This was cited as one of the major reasons behind its successful financial figures in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Erich Staake, Chairman of the Executive Board of Duisburger Hafen AG, said in 2020 “In the next three years, we plan to invest €170 million euros ($202.91 million).