New study highlights Freeport East could become key centre for driving transport decarbonisation and maritime green corridors
A new study published today suggests that Freeport East could become a new UK centre for transport decarbonisation. The study outlines how Freeport East can facilitate the international partnerships and investment necessary for the Green Hydrogen Hub to support maritime and wider transport sectors, according to the company's release.
Freeport East includes the Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s biggest container port and the main destination for container traffic to and from Europe and the Far East – these routes are central to many of the leading green corridor* initiatives, which are seen as key to achieving ambitious maritime decarbonisation objectives.
While the shipping sector is expected to grow by 30-70 per cent by 2050, 60 per cent of new vessel orders in 2022 were for multi-fuel vessels, demonstrating that the transition to clean fuels is already moving at pace. By positioning Freeport East and the wider region into the rapidly growing clean fuels market, it could support many hundreds of skilled jobs and bring significant economic benefits to the local area.
The findings build on research earlier this year that indicated a potential demand for 500MW of hydrogen by 2030 in the Freeport East area. Both reports support the development of the Freeport East Green Hydrogen Hub – aiming to harness abundant local renewable energy to produce green hydrogen for future transport uses.
Key findings from the report include:
Over 4000 vessels pass through Freeport East each year, which creates a potential need for over 180 tonnes of hydrogen per day for green maritime fuels, or 450MW of new electrolyser capacity
Freeport East has significant container port capacity, which could have a critical role to play in the development of hydrogen-enabled green shipping corridors through partnering with international ports and shipping lines and brokering new global partnerships
Investment in new local hydrogen refuelling infrastructure would help reduce carbon emissions from A14 traffic flows, benefiting communities in Freeport East, Cambridge, and other parts of the UK
New hydrogen investment in the logistics sector could be triggered by the strategic opportunities generated by the existing fuel stations and newer development sites in Felixstowe and along the A14
One major green hydrogen supply project, led by Scottish Power and Hutchison Ports, is already under development in Felixstowe which is already encouraging investment.
Freeport East is one of twelve Freeports established in the United Kingdom to drive economic growth and innovation and is located within the Port of Felixstowe. Covering Britain’s busiest container port, two major ferry ports and located close to the East Coast green energy cluster, Freeport East offers a unique combination of advantages to benefit traders, manufacturers and clean energy suppliers. It will create 13,500 new jobs and generate a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £5.5 billion over 10 years.
The Founding Members of Freeport East Limited are Essex County Council, Suffolk County Council, Tendring District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, East Suffolk District Council, The Port of Felixstowe, Gateway 14, Harwich International Port, New Anglia LEP and the University of Essex.
ScottishPower is part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the world's largest integrated utility companies and a world leader in wind energy.
Rux Energy is based in Sydney Australia, is a mission driven, impact-oriented company, focused on accelerating decarbonisation for the hardest-to-abate industries: heavy mobility and aerospace. Rux Energy are working closely with Freeport East to build collaborative R&D and investment partnerships that will help drive market opportunities for the development of green hydrogen in the UK.
