Barges running on green hydrogen could soon be a reality in the Netherlands after the launch of a consortium that will test sailing inland waterway vessels on green hydrogen in the Zuiderzeehaven area, northeast of Amsterdam.

Globally, the prospect of using hydrogen as a marine fuel is a highly attractive option to lower carbon emissions in the sector, if cost and infrastructure concerns can be overcome.

Making a switch to green hydrogen for marine use could make a huge difference in the Netherlands’ fight against climate change, as around 45pc of all Dutch freight transport takes place on water. The northwest European country aims to reduce carbon emissions by 95pc below 1990 levels by 2050.

“Emission-free inland shipping is something that our clients increasingly expect from us” Nutte Visser, MCS

The Dutch consortium, which includes the Port of Zwolle, container logistics company MCS and renewable energy producer Windkr-acht, aims to use electricity generated by local windfarms to produce green hydrogen, which would then fuel the barges.

“The power of this project is that we are bringing together all of the elements in the chain—the generation of electricity from the wind and sun, the production of green hydrogen and a continuous offtake by inland shipping,” says Bert Weever, director of Windkr-acht. The company operates two windfarms in the local port area.

One of the other consortium partners, Sendo Shipping, has already developed a low-carbon barge running on electricity using battery storage.

“We are happy to lead the way towards an emission-free inland shipping, which is something that our clients increasingly expect from us,” says MSC director Nutte Visser. The consortium is open to welcoming more partners, it says.

The Netherlands has ambitious plans to develop a hydrogen economy and to become the main supplier of hydrogen to northwest Europe. It aims to have 500MW of installed electrolyser capacity by 2025 and as much as 3-4GW by 2030. Its plan includes converting certain parts of its natural gas pipeline infrastructure to transport and store hydrogen.

The Netherlands must double its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet its 2030 climate target, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency last November.

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Author: Karolin Schaps