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The Port of Valencia has become the first port in Europe to use hydrogen energy in its container terminals as part of a pilot project with a total investment of €4m (US$4.54m).
Through the pilot project, entitled H2Ports, the port will receive the first machines powered by hydrogen batteries – a reach stacker for loading, unloading and transporting containers and a terminal tractor for roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) cargo.)
Additionally in the initial phase of H2Ports, a mobile hydrogen supply station will be installed and work in the Grimaldi (Valencia Terminal Europa) and MSC terminals at the port.
The Valenciaport Foundation, the National Hydrogen Center and the private companies MSC Terminal Valencia, Grimaldi Group, Hyster-Yale and Atena will participate in the project alongside the port authority of Valencia.
H2Ports has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU), a European public-private partnership that promotes the adoption of hydrogen as a low-emission alternative.
It is supported by the research and innovation programmes Horizon 2020 of the European Union, Hydrogen Europe Research and Hydrogen Europe.
The Port of Valencia first adopted the initiative in 2017 when the port authority and the Valenciaport foundation signed a collaboration agreement with FCHJU the aim to reduce emissions and its carbon footprint.
The two companies are among over 88 regions and cities belonging to 22 countries of the EU that have already signed this memorandum including London, Reykjavik, Venice, Hamburg and the regions of Pays de la Loire and Rhine-Westphalia.