16 January 2023 (Lloyd's List) - AMSTERDAM has become the latest European port to announce a hydrogen supply chain project, as authorities try to position themselves ahead of ship operators switching to alternative fuels. The Dutch port authority has signed an agreement with energy and storage companies to develop a green hydrogen supply chain, focusing on production in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and export to the Netherlands through Amsterdam. It is partnering with UAE-based renewable energy company Masdar, sustainable aviation fuel supplier Skynrg, and the storage companies Evos Amsterdam and Zenith Energy Terminals. “The Netherlands is keen on developing green hydrogen corridors with future exporting countries like the UAE. Our country is well positioned to become a hydrogen hub for the northwestern European market,” said Wopke Hoekstra, minister of foreign affairs for the Netherlands. The signatories plan to deliver green hydrogen to the shipping industry as a bunker fuel and will focus on transporting the product with liquid organic hydrogen carriers, which allows the usage of existing fossil fuel infrastructure in ports. The usage of liquid organic hydrogen carriers has become commonplace in some of the latest hydrogen projects. Vopak recently announced a 50/50 joint venture with German hydrogen logistics firm Hydrogenious to import hydrogen into Rotterdam by using the same technology. “One of the main advantages of our liquid organic hydrogen carriers technology is that the existing infrastructure for fossil fuels can be reused,” a spokesperson for Hydrogenious told Lloyd’s List. The safety issues surrounding the transport of hydrogen is an obstacle that could delay investment in the product as an alternative fuel for the shipping industry, as it requires extremely low temperatures. Hydrogen-derived alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol may play a key role in shipping’s decarbonisation.