In a mammoth attempt to stem the tide on climate change ports such as Rotterdam are committed to
realise an ‘energy transition’ to reduce their carbon emissions.
According to the Port Authority of Rotterdam around 18% of the Dutch CO2 emissions are generated by the port. Along with the companies established in the port they have joined strengths to realise a ‘energy transition’ that can drastically reduce the port’s emissions. Options include a closed cycle, biomass, carbon capture and storage and efficiency improvements.
In the same vein, the Netherlands and 194 other countries, all signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement have agreed to fight climate change.
Closed cycle strategy
In a closed cycle, you ensure that 100% of all raw materials (fossil and otherwise) are recycled. At the end of a product’s useful life, it isn’t incinerated or discarded, but reused. This will change the port into a place where all waste streams are ultimately collected and recycled. In addition, local industry will make extensive use of renewable electricity (generated by offshore wind farms, for example) and produce more sustainable fuels (e.g. hydrogen instead of petrol).
A closed cycle only becomes possible if everyone separates their waste even more carefully. This also means that, in time, people will no longer own their own telephones and cars. Rather, they will lease them, use them and then hand them in, to be used in the production of new items.
This is already in play at Merwe-Vierhavens, for example, where one can cycle on a bike path that is made of 100% recycled asphalt. The result will be about 98% lower emissions in 2050 compared to 2015, according to the Port Authority’s statistics and research.
Biomass and carbon storage
The new port area will ultimately consume little to no fossil resources. In addition, companies will capture any CO2 emitted by their plants and store it in empty gas fields below the North Sea. Realising this plan requires a large volume of biomass. This means that, in the near future, your kitchen and green waste may well serve as a feedstock for new fuels and products.
Over the next 30 years, the port area will not change much. The refineries will remain operational, but they will scale down production in response to a severely reduced demand for oil products. Companies also need to capture their CO2, which will be stored in empty gas fields below the North Sea.
Combination strategy is highly probable
The Port Authority has asked the German Wuppertal Institute to research which methods local companies can use to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the port. It is rather likely that the port will adopt a combination of these approaches.
Paris Climate Agreement and Rotterdam port
The objective of the agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius. The Dutch private sector fully supports the Paris climate goals. Over 60 companies, including initiators Siemens, Van Oord, Eneco, Shell and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, have called on the incoming government to draw up climate legislation that sets out how we should translate the Paris Agreement into concrete measures and establishes a long-term climate and energy policy.
Numerous companies in Rotterdam’s port area use fossil resources to produce fuels and a wide range of chemical products. While these companies generate CO2 emissions, they also have a wealth of knowledge relating to energy and CO2 emission reduction measures. This puts Rotterdam in a strong position for becoming an international frontrunner in the development and large-scale implementation of technologies that can cut industrial emission levels to virtually zero.
The Port Authority refers to this development as the ‘energy transition’: the move from fossil fuels to clean, ‘green’ sources of power and the optimal use and reuse of energy and raw materials. This transition is expected to be rounded off by 2050.
The four methods that have been put forward to reduce carbon emissions are heat alliance; plastic made from sugar beet and wood; liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel and reusing waste.
