(Rotterdam / Netherlands) – Four companies want to work together to build a supply chain for liquid hydrogen from Portugal to the Netherlands. Accordingly, the energy source will be produced in the industrial area of the deep-water port of Sines in southwest Portugal using electrolysis from renewable energy 
getting produced. It is then liquefied and shipped for further distribution to the port of Rotterdam, around 1.200 nautical miles (2.220 kilometers) away. The aim is to have the route operational by 2027.
The energy multinationals Shell New Energies NL BV and Engie SA, the Rotterdam-based Koninklijke Vopak NV, which specializes in the storage and distribution of mineral oil, gas and chemical products, and the shipping company Anthony Veder, operator of a fleet of 33 gas transport ships, are involved in the consortium. According to their own statements, the companies have signed an agreement to examine the feasibility of the project. This study follows the signing of a declaration of intent in 2020. The project is registered with the EU as “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI).
Shell and Engie as consortium leaders
Within the network, Shell and Engie want to work together across the entire value chain, while Anthony Veder and Vopak focus on the areas of transport, storage and distribution. They will initially assess the potential for producing, transporting and storing around 100 tonnes per day - with the option to increase this amount over time.
Already in 2021, Portugal had 
framework of its national Hydrogen strategy (Estratégia Nacional para o Hidrogénio, EN-H2) provided a budget of 40 billion euros. In particular, the area around the city of Sines had already been selected at the time for a number of projects aimed at the production, storage and transport of green hydrogen on an industrial scale. At the time, it was also announced that an electrolysis facility powered by electricity from a photovoltaic system would be commissioned in 2023. The goal there is a production output of one gigawatt by 2030.
Photos
Sines deep water port, Portugal. © APS – Ports of Sines and the Algarve Authority, SA
Graphic center
Planned transport route for liquid hydrogen from Sines to Rotterdam. © Vopak
Map below
Portugal with the geographical location of the port of Sines. © Geo Swan / Wikimedia Creative Commons
