Condor H2 shipping project gets underway

A new project has been launched to facilitate emission-free inland and nearshore shipping. A consortium that brings together the Port of Rotterdam, the Province of Zuid Holland, five other ports and more than 40 project partners, aims to have the first vessels sailing on hydrogen in 2025 and to enable 50 emission-free vessels by 2030.

The project called Condor H2, which could potentially contribute to a CO2 reduction of 100,000 tons per year, will provide fuel cells with a battery pack as well as hydrogen storage on a pay-per-use basis to enable ships to operate emission-free with limited up-front investments for shipowners. The hydrogen will be delivered in the so-called tanktainers which can be easily loaded on board vessels and quickly swapped when empty. The project is part of the Rhine Hydrogen Integration Network of Excellence (RH2INE), a cooperation between ports, regional governments and market parties along the Rhine corridor, ranging from Belgium and the Netherlands up to Switzerland. It is led by a Steering Group of the Province of Zuid Holland, Port of Rotterdam, WaterstofNet and Rabobank and is also supported the entire value chain from hydrogen suppliers and distributors to technology providers and shipowners, including: Air Products, Ballard, Blue H Engineering, BP, Concordia Damen, De Vlaamse Waterweg, DFDS, EICB, Engie, Eoly Energy, FinCo Fuel, Future Proof Shipping, H2Storage, HTS, Ineos, Linde, Marin, Maritime Academy Harlingen, Naval Inland Navigation, Nedstack, Municipality of Nijmegen, North Sea Port, NPRC, NPROXX, Port of Duisburg, Port of Amsterdam, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the Province of Noord Holland, Rotterdam Shortsea Terminal, Samskip, Schenk Tanktransport, Shell, STC, Theo Pouw, UMOE, VT Group, VITRITE Middelburg, and Zepp Solutions.