Horisont Energi and Port of Rotterdam team up on blue imports

Horisont Energi and the Port of Rotterdam announced a new MoU this week to set up a corridor for the transport of blue ammonia from northern Norway to Rotterdam. An FID for Horisont’s 1-million-tonne-per-year Barents Blue project (the source of the blue ammonia) is due by the end of next year, with delivery to Rotterdam possible by 2025.

The Port of Rotterdam is an energy hub port for western Europe, with some 13 percent of total energy demand in Europe entering the EU via Rotterdam. The Port has the ambition to be net zero CO₂ emission in 2050 while at the same time maintaining its pivotal role in the European energy system. The demand in Rotterdam is expected to be up to 20 million tons of hydrogen, equivalent to 100 million tons of ammonia, in 2050, according to Port of Rotterdam estimates.

Horisont Energi press release on the MoU announcement, 5 August 2021

Ammonia imports at the Port of Rotterdam

The partnership with Horisont is just the latest in a series of ammonia-related announcements. Already in 2021 the Port has:

• signed government-level agreements to explore green hydrogen imports from South Australia and Chile,
• concluded a green hydrogen export study with Icelandic national power company Landsvirkjun, and
• supported the formation of the Transhydrogen Alliance, a new consortium that will facilitate the production and import of green hydrogen and ammonia into the Port.

The Port is also reportedly a potential commercial partner in Namibia’s green hydrogen mega-project.