UAE-based clean energy giant Masdar announced on Friday that it has signed a signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Port of Amsterdam, SkyNRG, Evos Amsterdam and Zenith Energy to explore the development of a green hydrogen supply chain between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam to support Dutch and European markets.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate, and Chairman of Masdar, and Wopke Hoekstra, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands, according to a Masdar press statement.

Under this MoU, the parties will join their efforts to develop a green hydrogen supply chain, focusing on production in Abu Dhabi and export to the Netherlands through the port of Amsterdam.

The exported green hydrogen will be delivered to key European sectors – sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), steelmaking, and bunkering for shipping – and will also be supplied to new, emerging European offtakers, via pipeline, truck and barge.

Together, the parties will explore several hydrogen transportation methods, with a focus on liquid organic hydrogen carriers and liquid hydrogen.

Al Jaber said the partnership with the Port of Amsterdam and associated players in the green hydrogen space would help position Abu Dhabi as a key hub for green hydrogen development.

Hoekstra added that the Netherlands is well positioned to become a hydrogen hub for the Northwestern European market.

Port of Amsterdam, the operator of Europe's fourth-largest port, has set a target of importing at least one million tonnes of green hydrogen annually. SkyNRG is developing a network of SAF production facilities that require green hydrogen as input. Zenith Energy is developing a liquid hydrogen supply chain, while Evos Amsterdam is working on a liquid organic hydrogen carrier supply chain.

In December 2022, Masdar announced its new shareholding structure and green hydrogen business unit, with a goal of achieving 100 GW renewable energy capacity and green hydrogen production of 1 million tonnes per annum annually by 2030.

In November 2022, Masdar had signed agreements with leading Egyptian state-backed organisations to cooperate on the development of green hydrogen production plants in the country, targeting an electrolyser capacity of 4 gigawatts by 2030, and output of up to 480,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

Read more: UAE's Masdar to set up its largest renewable power project in Egypt

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)