Belgium – In the heart of Europe, Plug Power will construct a 35-tonne-per-day green hydrogen generation plant at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Plug signed a 30-year concession agreement to construct the plant in Belgium’s second-largest port. Plug intends to build a 100-megawatt green hydrogen plant on 28 acres of land leased under the arrangement, utilizing its own electrolyzer and liquefaction technologies. For the European market, Plug will create up to 12,500 tons of liquid and gaseous green hydrogen per year.
The plant will be built after the permitting procedure is completed, which is expected to be in late 2023. Green hydrogen production is planned to begin in late 2024, with plant commissioning in 2025.
Futuristic hydrogen hub
The Antwerp-Bruges Port is strategically located in Europe. It is located in the heart of Europe’s largest chemical industry cluster, adjacent to the North Sea, and offers transit connections to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France.
The port area is also one of Europe’s busiest logistics hubs, with 289 million tons of maritime freight, 24 million tons of rail freight, and 108.5 million tons of barge freight handled annually. Within 300 miles, 60% of Europe’s purchasing power is concentrated.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, which is slated to become Europe’s major hydrogen hub, wants to be a leader in climate-neutral infrastructure. Plug is committed to assisting the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in achieving this goal through its new green hydrogen facility.
Ideal location
With an electric interconnection point less than a mile away, the site position allows for a quick supply of electricity from on-site and site-adjacent wind turbines generating dozens of megawatts. The site also has access to water, roads, rail, and pipelines for delivering green hydrogen to clients. Plug has signed a contract with Fluxys to conduct a feasibility study to enable a connection to the pipeline, which will be part of a European open-access hydrogen backbone.
Plug will construct at the port’s NextGen District, which is dedicated to circular economy-focused businesses. Plug is exploring partnerships to complete the circular use of wastewater ejected during the creation of green hydrogen by using the cluster being built in the NextGen district.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges accommodates large manufacturing companies with about 1,500 acres of covered warehouses. Material handling systems, fuel cell vans through HYVIA – a joint venture between Plug and Renault – and stationary power solutions for shore electricity will all help to decarbonize the port’s logistics processes.
With about 15 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, the North Sea countries are major wind power providers. As part of a recent cooperation agreement signed by Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, they have pledged to increasing capacity to 65 GW by 2030 and 150 GW by 2050. The European Union recently announced the $315 billion REPowerEU effort to assist in the transition away from Russian fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, such as green hydrogen.
