The Dutch and Japanese have held a unique trade relationship for more than 400 years. Today, there is a shared focus on innovation and pioneering solutions to two of the world’s most pressing challenges; climate change and energy security.
It was a pleasure to host the Japanese trade delegation earlier this month in the Port of Rotterdam to discuss the hydrogen economy and opportunities for future collaboration including:
- Building a truly global hydrogen economy: As Japan will be net importer of hydrogen, developing a strong global hydrogen ecosystem will be crucial to its decarbonization efforts.
- The ammonia opportunity: As well as owning and operating the only ammonia storage facility in the Port of Rotterdam, we produce renewable and low carbon ammonia. As one of the most efficient ways to transport and store hydrogen and with the potential for co-firing, renewable or low carbon ammonia will be crucial in achieving Japan’s decarbonization ambitions.
- Transporting hydrogen: OCI Hyfuels is the largest global producer of green methanol, and given that Japan’s hydrogen strategy involves importing hydrogen by sea, cleaner shipping fuels will be key to decarbonizing the wider hydrogen economy.
- The need for more regulation: Renewable and low carbon ammonia and methanol are key enablers of the hydrogen economy. But they need to be commercially viable. For this to happen, governments need to support businesses with a combination of incentivization and regulation.
As we continue to build the global hydrogen ecosystem, partnership and knowledge sharing will be crucial and we look forward to working with Japan and other hydrogen leaders to power a cleaner future sooner.
