Plug Power Inc., a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, will build a 35 tpd green hydrogen generation plant at Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium.
Plug Power signed a 30 year concession agreement to build the plant at the Belgian port, the second largest in Europe. The company plans to erect a 100 MW green hydrogen plant, using its own electrolyser and liquefaction technology, on 28 acres of land leased under the agreement. It will produce up to 12 500 tpy of liquid and gaseous green hydrogen for the European market.
Construction of the plant will begin upon completion of the permitting process, anticipated in late 2023. Initial production of green hydrogen is expected in late 2024, and plant commissioning will be in 2025.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges sits in a strategic location in Europe. At the centre of the largest chemical industry cluster in Europe and close to the North Sea, it provides transportation connections to Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, and France. It is less than an hour’s drive to Brussels, the capital of Europe.
The port area is also one of the busiest logistics areas in Europe, handling 289 million tpy of maritime freight, 24 million tpy of rail freight, and 108.5 million tpy of barge freight. 60% of Europe’s purchasing power is located within 300 miles.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges, set to become a major hydrogen hub for Europe, has plans to be a lighthouse port for climate-neutral infrastructure. Through its new green hydrogen plant, Plug is committed to playing a pivotal role in helping Port of Antwerp-Bruges achieve this ambition.
The site location provides the opportunity for a ready supply of electricity from onsite and site-adjacent wind turbines generating dozens of megawatts, with an electric interconnection point less than a mile away. In addition, the site offers water, road, rail, and pipeline access for the delivery of green hydrogen to customers. An open-access hydrogen pipeline will be built along the site, and Plug Power has signed a contract with Fluxys to engage in a feasibility study for enabling a connection to the pipeline, which will be part of a European open-access hydrogen backbone.
The company will build in the port’s NextGen district, an area dedicated to companies supporting the circular economy. Leveraging the cluster being assembled in the NextGen district, Plug Power is exploring partnerships to complete the circular use of wastewater expelled during the production of green hydrogen.
More than 1500 acres of covered warehousing at Port of Antwerp-Bruges supports heavy manufacturing industries. Plug Power will contribute to decarbonising the logistics flows of the port, with material handling solutions, fuel cell vans through HYVIA – a joint venture (JV) between Plug Power and Renault, and stationary power solutions for shore power.
North Sea countries are major producers of wind power with over 15 GW of installed capacity. They have committed to growing capacity to 65 GW by 2030 and 150 GW by 2050, as part of a recent cooperation agreement signed by Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The EU recently launched a US$315 billion REPowerEU initiative to support the shift from Russian fossil fuels to renewable energy including green hydrogen.
The announcement of this project illustrates the strength of trans-Atlantic cooperation between a leading international technology company and a forward-thinking European port operator. Plug Power is building out an end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem across the world, focused on hub locations with attractive economics and strong customer demand. Europe is core to the company’s strategy, reflected in multiple recent investments, such as the opening of a service and logistics centre in Duisburg, Germany, the acquisition of Netherlands-based Frames Group, and the inauguration of a hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicle production plant with Renault in Flins, France.
“Plug is already one of the largest investors in the European hydrogen economy, and one of the largest employers in Europe among the hydrogen pure players. Our investment in a green hydrogen production plant in the heart of Europe deepens our commitment to the European market,” added Marsh. “Europe is determined to shift from foreign sources of fossil fuel energy to local sources of green energy, and we are helping to deliver on their vision.”