In the plans for Europe’s future vitality provide, ports play a central function. That was the case even earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine. In any case, a big a part of the inexperienced hydrogen that the EU wants to attain its local weather targets is to be transported to the EU by ship. For the reason that outbreak of the Ukraine struggle, nonetheless, the ports have been used for a very totally different function: to scale back dependence on Russian pure gasoline. The EU Fee desires to exchange 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gasoline, a 3rd of all Russian imports, this yr with further imports of liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) – and this requires terminals all through Europe.
The new port of Bruges-Antwerp, which has simply emerged from the merger of the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, performs a key function in this. 15 p.c of LNG imports into the EU are presently dealt with by way of the port of Zeebrugge. To this point, Germany has additionally been largely provided with LNG from there. The system has been operating on the restrict of its capability for weeks. Nevertheless, the port’s CEO, Jacques Vandermeiren, is skeptical that investing in the development of new LNG capability is worth it – and this isn’t solely resulting from Germany’s investments in its personal LNG terminals. The house is there, proper subsequent to the prevailing LNG terminal in Zeebrugge. However: “Why ought to I construct new LNG terminals that might be out of date in a decade or two?” he says in an interview with the FAZ, irrespective of how a lot dependence on Russia should be lowered. In the end, the funding has not paid off, a minimum of to date. Accordingly, a minimum of in the mean time, there aren’t any concrete plans on the a part of the operator Fluxys.
Vandermeiren doesn’t share the European Fee’s argument that investing in new terminals is unquestionably worthwhile as a result of they’ll later be used to import inexperienced hydrogen. “Technically, it isn’t that easy, it will not work with out further investments,” he emphasizes. Vandermeiren is aware of what he is speaking about. Earlier than turning into head of the Port of Antwerp in 2016, he labored in the vitality sector for greater than twenty years. Most just lately, he was CEO of the Belgian community operator Elia, which additionally owns the German community operator 50 Hertz.
Fork, Use and Storage
Vandermeiren is as an alternative specializing in two different enterprise areas associated to the Fee’s Inexperienced Deal: importing inexperienced hydrogen and exporting liquefied carbon dioxide. The EU wants each to attain its bold local weather targets for 2050. “That is so far-off, however we’ve to speculate now,” he says. The port itself ought to play a pioneering function. Its emissions are set to halve by 2030. That is something however trivial. The port accounts for 10 p.c of Belgium’s emissions. The second largest chemical compounds cluster in the world, which incorporates BASF , Air Liquide , Exxon Mobil , Complete , Borealis and Ineos, additionally contributes to this. As much as 7 million tons of CO2 must be saved by 2027.
