Inland shipping with green hydrogen from the Zuiderzeehaven in Kampen

Hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role in the greening of inland shipping. Together with a unique consortium of pioneers around the Zuiderzeehaven harbour in Kampen, Hysolar Innovatie & Advies is working on plans to power inland shipping vessels with green hydrogen. Running inland shipping on green hydrogen would make emission-free transport possible.

Challenges in making the sector sustainable

The Dutch inland shipping sector is a giant within Europe. About 40 percent of all European inland shipping vessels are Dutch; and about 45 percent of our freight is transported over water, which is more than in any other European country. Inland shipping today is also responsible for a substantial share of the total inland emissions of CO₂, particulate matter and nitrous oxides. This represents a big challenge in the effort to limit these emissions. Zuiderzeehaven in Kampen is part of the Port of Zwolle, and is a junction for, among others, container transport between Rotterdam and the northern Netherlands.

Inland shipping with green hydrogen

One of the consortium partners is Sendo Shipping, a company that over the last few years developed a new vessel with the specific aim of minimising energy consumption and using electric propulsion. In 2019, the ‘Sendo Liner’ model was brought into service, and the same year was also honoured with the KNVTS ‘Ship of the Year’ award. Electricity is generated on-board the Sendo Liner; currently, this is still being done using a diesel generator.

The next step is to do this with green hydrogen, which is produced in the Kampen harbour with locally-generated electricity. Nutte Visser, a shareholder in the MCS and IJDT container companies, says: ‘We are happy to lead the way towards an emission-free inland shipping, which is something that our clients increasingly expect from us.’ Bert Weever, director of the Windkr-acht company, and a shareholder in the IJDT container terminal, adds that ‘the power of this project is that we’re bringing together all of the elements in the chain: the generation of electricity from the wind and sun, the production of green hydrogen, and a continuous offtake by inland shipping.’

Many steps still lie ahead before all of this can be realised. The consortium is open to collaborating with actors interested in playing a role in any way. Those interested are asked to contact Milo B.V. or Hysolar Innovatie & Advies.