A group of non-profit and private-sector players has formed a new alliance to ship the first cargo of hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives from the US to Europe.
The Transatlantic Clean Hydrogen Trade Coalition (H2TC), endorsed by Shell and Trafigura, has set a target date of 2026 for the debut shipment.
Launched by decarbonisation group The Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), the alliance also aims to facilitate trade of more than 3m tonnes per year of hydrogen-derived ammonia and methanol on the route from the US Gulf coast to northern Europe by 2030.
The alliance includes RMI, Systemiq and Power2X, while other endorsements come from hydrogen economy companies such as Ambient Fuels, Apex Clean Energy, Buckeye Partners and alternative fuel producer OCI Global.
MPP told TradeWinds that it has also set up a parallel initiative in collaboration with the Global Maritime Forum to build a green shipping corridor between Texas and Rotterdam.
“We work closely with leading shipping companies for that effort,” the spokeswoman said.
“Understanding infrastructure bottlenecks, including vessel availability, is a top priority for H2TC for 2024. The team has started preparatory work in the background, but cannot share results yet.”
And MPP said ammonia and methanol are the most promising candidates for the first shipment of hydrogen or a hydrogen derivative, as things stand now.
“Some companies are looking into transporting H2 directly — it is not clear if this will become a viable option as well,” the spokeswoman said.
The group also includes suppliers and buyers, as well as ports such as the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
10m tonnes of imports
MPP said the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine critically affected European heavy industry.
It wants to contribute significantly to the EU’s goal of importing 10m tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.
The organisation said producers from the US Gulf region are expected to be among the most cost-competitive clean hydrogen exporters to Europe, given the region’s world-class ports, existing energy infrastructure networks, access to specialised labour and other strategic advantages.
H2TC will provide an in-depth analysis of regulatory and infrastructure requirements, supply and demand matching, and integration with capital markets.
Members plan to work closely with US and European governments on projects.
Chad Holliday, co-chair of MPP and a former chairman of Shell, said: “H2TC marks an important step to open the gateway for cross-Atlantic shipments of clean hydrogen.
“The capacity to import relatively cheap clean hydrogen from the US to complement local production will have a direct and significant impact on the European industry’s efforts to deploy clean production processes at scale, including in the fertiliser, steel, and shipping sectors.”
Trafigura keen
MPP was founded by the Energy Transitions Commission, RMI, We Mean Business Coalition and the World Economic Forum.
Julien Rolland, head of strategic projects and investments at Trafigura, said: “We welcome the creation of H2TC to facilitate the shipment of renewable hydrogen-based fuels from producers in the US Gulf Coast to heavy industrial users in Europe by 2026.
“Cost-efficient and safe transport of renewable hydrogen-based fuels will be an important enabler of the energy transition.”
Nico van Dooren, director of new business and portfolio management at the Port of Rotterdam, said the port has been scouting the world for green hydrogen over the last three years.
“Texas is one of the most promising locations to export substantial volumes of this renewable energy to Rotterdam within a few years’ time,” he said.
