Some 18 companies have banded together as part of their project to study the potential establishment of an ammonia cracker.
Led by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the ammonia cracker is expected to enable the importation of 1 million tonnes of hydrogen annually.
This comes as part of the Port of Rotterdam’s greater effort to decarbonise the industry.
The partaking companies have employed Fluor to research the viability of building a sizable cracking plant at the port to convert ammonia into 1 million tonnes of hydrogen annually.
The decarbonisation of other industrial clusters in northwest Europe can be facilitated by transferring hydrogen from the Port of Rotterdam Authority via pipes.
READ: Battolyser Systems to build $100 million hydrogen plant in Rotterdam
Generally, 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen can help reduce CO2 emissions by roughly 10 million tonnes.
The maritime industry’s ability to refrain from natural gas will be heavily predicated on the availability of sustainable alternatives like hydrogen or ammonia which is easier to transport.
Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority said: “Europe will need large amounts of hydrogen to reach its climate objectives and a significant share of this can be imported via the port of Rotterdam.
“Ammonia is one of the most efficient ways to transport hydrogen and by establishing one central ammonia cracker, we can save time, space and resources to enable the import of a million tons of hydrogen per year.”
