The Port of Amsterdam has signed a memorandum of understanding with tank storage operator Evos and liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology firm Hydrogenious to jointly develop an LOHC terminal.

The partners plan to develop a 100-500t/d LOHC dehydrogenation plant before 2028, with the ambition to scale up to at least 1mn t/yr. The three firms are all members of H2A, a platform that aims to set up a supply chain for green hydrogen imports through Amsterdam.

“The location of the port of Amsterdam and the companies operating here and in the wider North Sea Canal Area, make our port ideally suited for such a terminal and plant,” says Koen Overtoom, CEO of the Port of Amsterdam. “This region also offers large potential for offtake, with our connection to Schiphol airport and the presence of large industrial clusters.”

The port is collaborating with Duisport in Germany to facilitate the distribution of hydrogen to Germany and Europe more widely, further increasing the offtake potential.

“We are thrilled about this new, key step, which will strengthen the position of the port of Amsterdam as a hydrogen hub, for import, storage, transshipment and distribution to the wider hinterland,” Overtoom adds.

Existing infrastructure

Hydrogenious utilises as an LOHC the thermal oil benzyl toluene, which is already well-established in industry as a heat transfer medium. Benzyl toluene can be handled like oil products within existing infrastructure at ambient pressure and temperature. The partners claim that Evos’ existing terminals at Amsterdam will need “only relatively minor modifications” to store and distribute LOHC.

2028 – Planned startup for first LOHC facilities

“To realise Europe’s ambitious plans to import 10mn t of hydrogen already in 2030, we need to make use of existing infrastructure. Therefore, the H2A consortium has focused on LOHC technology that can rely on existing oil handling and storage capacities and significantly reduces potential risks of handling molecular hydrogen or other derivatives,” says Hydrogenious CEO and founder Daniel Teichmann.

“The build-up of LOHC-based supply chains will also facilitate the transport of hydrogen to the ‘hinterland’ and to Germany. Besides the development of import projects, H2A will also provide political and regulatory support to technology companies and project developers at the location, as well as structured access to funding,” he adds.

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Author: Polly Martin