Iceland's Landsvirkjun and port of Rotterdam agree to study shipping green hydrogen

London — Iceland's largest electricity generator and the port of Rotterdam have agreed to study the best way to ship zero-carbon hydrogen produced from hydropower to feed Europe's growing demand, the two parties said Oct. 23.

Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, would build a hydrogen production facility at the Ljosifoss Hydropower Station, about 70 km outside of Reykjavík. It would produce the hydrogen from hydropower and ship it to the port.

"In terms of destinations, companies both in Rotterdam and elsewhere are looking for ways to make their production processes more sustainable," Sjaak Poppe, spokesman for the port of Rotterdam, said in a phone call with S&P Global Platts.

"Whether it would be shipped as ammonia or as a liquified organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) is all part of the study. We will be looking at the technical side of that [to determine] the most feasible and logical way to ship," Poppe added.

The port of Rotterdam has been invited by the Dutch government to identify future sources of green hydrogen produced from zero-carbon sources for Europe.

The port has already announced agreements to ensure production and transport of green hydrogen from Portugal to ship hydrogen produced from solar energy at Porto Sines, and is in discussions with projects in three other countries to secure supplies, Poppe said.

In terms of customers, the port of Rotterdam would likely be the end-user in the first phase of the project, Poppe said. It would connect with a planned 35 km planned pipeline network, he added. Other customers could be connected through a growing network into southeast Netherlands and Germany, although shipping it further would raise the costs, he said.

"We are in touch with several large German companies and others within the Port of Rotterdam who are looking to shift from natural gas and coal to more renewable energy like hydrogen as a fuel and feedstock," he said.