Feasibility study on export of South Australian green hydrogen to Rotterdam
The South Australian Government and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study the feasibility of exporting green hydrogen made in South Australia to Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port. This MoU connects some of the world’s most ambitious players in the hydrogen economy and renewable energy, according to Port of Rotterdam's release.
South Australia is a global leader in renewable energy, with around 60% of generation from wind and solar power aiming for net-100% renewable energy by 2030. Over 1 in 3 South Australian homes have rooftop solar, and around 3% of homes have home batteries installed or committed in the largest global per capita roll-out of home storage.
The Port of Rotterdam is a leader in the transition to renewable energy and has developed an ambitious hydrogen masterplan to become the major hydrogen import hub to supply Northwest-Europe with renewable energy. At this moment, Rotterdam imports vast quantities of oil and coal. Imports of hydrogen will replace these to a large extent in the years to come, as part of the decarbonization of the European economy.
South Australia has committed around $15 million to support green hydrogen production projects being led by AGIG at Tonsley, H2U at Cultana and Neoen in the state's mid-North.
The partnership of South Australia and the Port of Rotterdam will build upon a $1.25m hydrogen export modelling tool and prospectus, released in October 2020, looking at establishing green hydrogen supply chains from South Australia.
South Australia is the first sub-national jurisdiction to enter into such an agreement with the Port of Rotterdam. The Port is doing similar feasibility studies regarding the production and shipping of hydrogen with a number of countries including Iceland, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Chile and countries in the Middle East.
