Ramping up hydrogen

The Port of Rotterdam Authority (PRA), Koole Terminals, Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation will carry out a joint feasibility study for the large-scale commercial import of hydrogen from overseas sources to one of Koole’s terminals in the Port of Rotterdam, utilising Chiyoda’s hydrogen storage and transportation technology SPERA Hydrogen.

PRA said: “The Port of Rotterdam Authority will provide a matchmaking role for major hydrogen end-users in Northwest Europe and competitive oversea hydrogen suppliers and support for materializing the project. Koole Terminals will pursue ways to innovate its terminal facilities and support development of onward transport to their end-users.

“Chiyoda Corporation will be the technology provider for the project and Mitsubishi Corporation, as one of Japan’s top trading and investment company in the field of energy industry, will lead the commercial development of the project to make the overall hydrogen supply chain commercially viable.”

One-year time frame

The feasibility study is expected to take one year. The companies aim to import 100 to 200 ktpa hydrogen in 2025 and 300 to 400 ktpa in 2030.

Northwest-Europe will have to import hydrogen on a large scale to become net zero CO2 emission, said PRA. The port authority is looking at ways to set up new hydrogen supply chains from countries where hydrogen can be produced and supplied cost-effectively.

The science

Chiyoda Corporation developed the SPERA Hydrogen technology to release hydrogen from Methylcyclohexane (MCH), a Liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) that maintains a stable liquid state under ambient temperature and pressure. MCH is produced from toluene through the hydrogenation process. When hydrogen is generated from MCH, toluene produced simultaneously, which can be shipped back to be used as material of MCH again.

In 2020 Chiyoda Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and MITSUI & CO., LTD. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha successfully completed the demonstration project of the long-distance transportation (5000km) and storage of hydrogen using Chiyoda Corporation’s SPERA Hydrogen technology by producing MCH in Brunei, shipping it to Japan and shipping toluene back to Brunei.

PRA noted that one of the major advantages of MCH over liquid hydrogen and ammonia as a hydrogen carrier is that it makes use of existing infrastructure and vessels and is easier to handle.