Project launched to create Hydrogen Highway from Scotland to Rotterdam
The Net Zero Technology Centre and ERM have today (14 December 2022) announced the launch of the Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) for Hydrogen Transport from Scotland (LHyTS) project, which will play a key role in the export of hydrogen from Scotland to Rotterdam, according to the company's release.
The LHyTS project seeks to demonstrate that LOHC, in the form of methylcyclohexane (MCH), can be successfully transported at scale, providing an export route to the Port of Rotterdam and other European destinations.
The project will be delivered by a diverse, international consortium, including Axens, Chiyoda, EnQuest, ERM, Koole Terminals, Port of Rotterdam, Scottish Government, Shetland Islands Council, Storegga and the Net Zero Technology Centre. The partners will work together undertaking engineering studies targeted at developing a pilot project as a precursor to large scale export.
Hydrogen will facilitate various decarbonisation applications. The project aligns with Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Policy Statement, which aims to deliver 5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030 and 25GW by 2045. The global ambition has also been established, with The European Commission targeting 10 million tons of hydrogen to be imported by 2030.
The Port of Rotterdam, as an established energy hub, already imports 13% of Europe’s energy and has ambitions to become the Hydrogen Hub of Europe. To achieve this, the port will draw on its extensive import, export and storage infrastructure, established energy industry supply chain and pipeline connections to other industrial clusters in Northwest Europe.
The Net Zero Technology Centre was created as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, with £180 million of UK and Scottish government funding to maximise the potential of the North Sea.
Chiyoda focused on the challenges of hydrogen storage and transport from an early stage and began developing a high-performance catalyst to obtain hydrogen from methylcyclohexane (MCH) as a carrier in 2002, and successfully completed the world's first hydrogen supply chain demonstration project in 2020.
EnQuest is providing creative solutions through the energy transition.
Axens, an IFP Group company, provides a complete range of solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, the production and purification of major petrochemical intermediates, the chemical recycling of plastics, all natural gas treatment and conversion options along with water treatment and carbon capture.
