Rotterdam Looks for Green Fuel Projects
The Port of Rotterdam Authority has made five million euros (nearly $5.7 million) available for funding via its Incentive Scheme Climate-Friendly Shipping.
Funding is available for shippers, shipping companies, fuel manufacturers and suppliers, engine manufacturers and service providers to promote projects that make use of low-carbon or zero-carbon fuels delivered in Rotterdam’s port area.
The scheme is intended for fuel projects that reduce CO2 emissions by over 50 percent. In cases where the proposed project involves biofuels, they need to be of an advanced nature and be produced from residual or waste flows.
The incentive scheme aligns with the goals set out in the World Ports Climate Action Program, which was launched in September 2018. In this partnership – a Rotterdam initiative – the port authorities of Hamburg, Barcelona, Antwerp, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Vancouver and Rotterdam are working together on projects intended to reduce the shipping sector’s contribution to global warming.
CEO of the Port of Rotterdam, Allard Castelein, said at the time: “The Paris Agreement has set a clear target: we need to limit global warming to well below 2°C. It is vital in this context to reduce the emissions generated by maritime transport. As critical hubs in the global maritime transport network, I am convinced that ports can make a significant contribution.”
The World Ports Climate Action Program focuses on the following specific actions:
• Increase efficiency of supply chains using digital tools;
• Advance common and ambitious (public) policy approaches aimed at reducing emissions within larger geographic areas;
• Accelerate development of in-port renewable power-to-ship solutions and other zero emission solutions;
• Accelerate the development of commercially viable sustainable low-carbon fuels for maritime transport and infrastructure for electrification of ship propulsion systems.
• Accelerate efforts to fully decarbonize cargo-handling facilities in our ports.
The new funding scheme scheme runs until the end of 2022.
The port of Rotterdam is Europe’s largest bunkering port, as well as one of the top three bunkering ports worldwide. Every year, some 11 million cubic meters of bunker fuel, including LNG, is supplied to vessels in Rotterdam.