Chris Curtin’s appointment as regional consultant representative in Scotland for BIFA – the British International Freight Association, completes the trade association’s regional team.
Chris joins four other regional representatives who support and engage with BIFA members across the UK and are the trade association's ‘eyes and ears’ at a local level in each of its regions.
Chris has over 22 years’ experience in customs and logistics including operational, commercial and compliance activities.
He joined one of the UK’s leading port community system providers in 2011 and during his time there was liaison to major UK government agencies including HMRC, Border Force and Port Health during the implementation of key programmes such as UCC, CDS and Brexit.
Most recently, Chris has taken the role of head of Customs and Logistics services for DDC FPO, a leading outsourcing organisation and will combine this role with his work for BIFA.
BIFA Director General, Steve Parker comments: “We have made clear our strategy to further raise BIFA’s profile with our members as well as enhance engagement with them.
“With the appointment of Chris, we have completed a recruitment drive to strengthen and support our engagement with our members in Scotland and other parts of the UK; to ensure that their views reach all areas of the association; and are reflected in the work undertaken by the secretariat.
“I know that Chris is looking forward to working for BIFA’s members in Scotland, getting a better understanding of how BIFA can fulfil their requirements, whilst representing them in key forums, and ensuring their views are heard by key decision makers in the logistics environment.”
In order to offer their customers a higher transparency of services, Rhenus India inaugurated the Rhenus Experience Centre in their Bhiwandi multi-user warehouse in Mumbai.
In the new facility, Rhenus India takes its customers on a journey to see how the operation of their goods is actually handled. Instead of just learning in the abstract what it means to choose Rhenus as a logistics service provider, customers can now immerse themselves in the world of sophisticated warehousing.
Providing a comprehensive overview of the warehouse operations across India, the Experience Centre showcases activities like loading, unloading, packaging and more in real time. Visitors can also experience live demonstrations of the warehouse management system (WMS), transport management system (TMS) and the Qlik Sense reporting tool. By combining physical operations and digital processes, Rhenus India creates an experience that is a combination of both simulation and reality.
“As a part of our sales and business development program, we always invite our customers to the warehouse. Building long-term business relationships and trust can only begin with transparency and real-time insights into the supply chain,” says Pranav Agarwal, Head of Supply Chain Solutions & IT of Rhenus India.
Rhenus India focuses on tailoring integrated logistics solutions to meet individual customer needs and seamlessly integrate them into their supply chains by providing a holistic approach to warehousing and logistics. “Selling logistics services today has an increased complexity and, as a service provider, it is our job to identify and eradicate problems for our customers,” explains Agarwal. Rhenus India sees an important success factor for its business in giving them an understanding of what this support actually looks like in concrete terms.
With the announcement of the acquisition of Farrow, a well-reputed Canada-based customs broker, Kuehne+Nagel takes a step forward in its Roadmap 2026 growth ambitions.
The acquisition complements Kuehne+Nagel's offering for companies that increasingly rely on customs clearance services and supports the growing demand in an environment of increasingly complex international trade regulations.
Headquartered in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Farrow’s outstanding service is rooted in a 112-year heritage and is supported by 830 employees in 41 locations across Canada and the USA. In 2022, Farrow managed over 1.5 million customs entries.
The acquisition of Farrow will be immediately earnings-accretive and will expand the company’s customs capabilities in a complementary way, especially at the Canadian and Mexican borders of the USA.
“With Farrow, we acquire a leading, diversified customs brokerage and logistics company that brings with it a proven track record of success, a growth-oriented mindset, and significant business scalability,” said Hansjörg Rodi, Member of the Management Board, responsible for Road Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel International AG. “The acquisition of Farrow greatly accelerates Kuehne+Nagel’s growth ambitions in the customs market and is a compelling, strategic fit, expanding our offering of value-added solutions.”
Rick Farrow, Chairman, Farrow added, “We are excited to take our successful long-time, family-owned business to the next level and welcome the opportunity to be part of one of the world’s leading logistic companies. This allows us to combine our extensive expertise in customs brokerage with the capabilities and global reach of Kuehne+Nagel, allowing us to provide extraordinary supply chain solutions for our customers, as well as, creating new opportunities for career growth for our colleagues.”
Completion of the transaction is expected during the first quarter of 2024. The acquisition is subject to approval from regulatory authorities and customary closing conditions. Upon close, Farrow will become a fully owned subsidiary of Kuehne+Nagel.
Maersk has officially welcomed Global Key Partner PUMA to its warehouse near Rijeka, Croatia.
The sports brand is now the second customer at the facility, which became operational on 17th July 2023.
On Tuesday, 14th November, the local Maersk team inaugurated and successfully handled PUMA’s first inbounds volumes through Maersk’s dedicated warehouse in Croatia. Located less than 20 kilometres from the port of Rijeka in the northern part of the country, the facility ensures fast delivery times and efficient cargo handling. This modern 12,000 sqm warehouse is a recently added link in Maersk’s global network of logistics assets across all continents offering resilient and flexible end-to-end supply chain solutions.
"This is another great example of what we mean with our mantra FOREVER FASTER: The same week PUMA dominated the world’s fastest sport at the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, we also went live with our new cross-docking centre in Rijeka. With our trusted partner Maersk, we are able to provide better and faster deliveries to our customers in South-eastern Europe – saving more than one week in time to market, as well as cost and CO2 emissions." Johan Kuhlo, Managing Director and General Manager at PUMA.
Edouard Buysschaert, Regional Europe and IMEA Key Client Manager for PUMA praised the fruitful collaboration between the two companies, the great teamwork and dedication of Maersk colleagues involved in the project: “I would like to thank our partner PUMA for the trust and their overall collaborative support throughout the entire project. A special thanks to our Maersk Croatia staff: the entire Rijeka warehouse & customs team and all other colleagues involved!”
The Rijeka warehouse is a Class A type, with high security standards and is designed to minimise greenhouse gas emissions thanks to features like solar roof or LED lights reducing energy consumption. The facility has flexible pallet capacity and offers end-to-end solutions including Customs services, as well a wide range of additional value-adding services available. Additional benefit is the proximity of the future deepwater terminal, Rijeka Gateway.
November will be seen in the British International Freight Association’s (BIFA) history as an auspicious month with the first meeting of its new Sustainable Logistics Policy Group, managed by Mike Jones, policy advisor sustainability & environment.
For many years BIFA has been monitoring the legislation, tracking any new regulations, and delivering advice to its corporate members on various environmental issues such as plastic packaging and the problems surrounding its disposal, as well as the development of different fuel types and their respective merits and de-merits.
Environmental and sustainability issues are not new and over time, the environmental agenda within freight and logistics has developed. Whilst the focus is often about carbon emissions, there are other wide-ranging generic issues.
With all of the above in mind, BIFA felt the need to establish a policy group to help identify and report to the Association and its Members on environmental-related issues which may in the future have an impact upon their businesses, or in fact are already doing so.
At the meeting, attendees discussed how the policy group could work to provide guidance to the association in order to deliver meaningful support on environmental and sustainability issues as they impact the UK and the international freight services industry. Future meetings will discuss how to agree and set the association’s policy on all matters concerning environmental matters.
The date of the meeting also marked Use Less Stuff Day, which seemed like an appropriate time for the first meeting of a policy group established to help BIFA assist all of its members, whatever their size, meet the ever-increasing challenges associated with environmental and sustainability issues within freight and logistics.
Sustainability expert and consultant to BIFA Kelly Hobson of Shape Tomorrow gave a presentation about the wider business case and requirements of any supply chain, whilst Lucinda Maxwell, founders’ associate, from Pledge delivered an interesting overview about calculating freight emissions and sustainability regulations.
At the meeting, Director General, Steve Parker emphasised the significance of this new policy group and urged members that were present to encourage other members to engage with the group and attend future meetings.
He said: “All BIFA members are at different stages of their journey in regards to the development of policy that addresses environmental and sustainability issues within the supply chains that they manage.
“By participating in this policy group, members will be able to help shape best practice guidance; and influence how BIFA can represent members’ interests on this subject in our interaction with Government and other stakeholders that are developing legislation on the matter.”
HAROPA PORT and VERSO ENERGY signed an agreement for the installation of a plant to produce low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels on HAROPA PORT land in Grand-Quevilly.
This production plant will be set up on an area of land belonging to HAROPA PORT | Rouen in the town of Grand-Quevilly at the administrative boundary with Petit-Couronne. This development project will help both secure and expand the local industrial ecosystem. The facility is projected to come on stream by 2029.
The project is slated to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis and will be capable of providing capacity of 350MW, corresponding to an annual volume of more than 50,000 tonnes of hydrogen, in return for an investment of around €500m. It is to be accompanied by a plant producing synthetic fuels using captured, recycled CO2, and creating some 150 direct and 250 indirect jobs. The project will contribute in this way to decarbonising industrial sites in the port area and the maritime and aviation sectors, in which demand for sustainable fuels can be seen to be increasing significantly.
The new production plant has strategic importance for HAROPA PORT and generally for the Rouen port community. This is so because it will help sustain a dynamic that is driving industrial development and renewal centred on the technologies and forms of production of the future as components of the energy transition and decarbonisation of industrial activities across the region. Ports are faced with major issues arising from decarbonisation for which decarbonised hydrogen will increasingly be an essential resource. There are numerous use cases for hydrogen in port ecosystems, ranging from freight handling to maritime transport, and including road and rail mobility.
Dominique Ritz, deputy CEO of HAROPA PORT, and Antoine Huard, CEO of Verso Energy, signed the site occupancy agreement at the local regional offices of HAROPA PORT | Rouen, most notably in the presence of Jean-Benoît Albertini, the Prefect of Seine-Maritime, Thierry Coquil, head of the directorate for infrastructure, transport and mobility (DGITM), Nicolas Rouly, mayor of Grand-Quevilly and vice-chair of the Rouen Normandy urban district authority, Aline Louisy-Louis, vice-chair of Normandy’s Regional Authority, and Olivier Morzelle, head of the regional directorate for local development and housing (DREAL).
“We are proud to host the future production plant for decarbonised hydrogen proposed by VERSO ENERGY on Rouen port land. This major project comes as confirmation that the Seine Axis is a new-fuels, new-mobility valley. Once again, HAROPA PORT has shown itself to be a key actor in the energy and ecological transition, serving local regions and the economic fabric”, declared Stéphane Raison, CEO of HAROPA PORT.
“This industrial project is totally aligned with the national strategy for the development of hydrogen and sustainable fuels as essential vectors of industrial and transport decarbonisation. Rouen is a particularly favourable location for a project of this kind, given the central position of its port industrial zone along the Seine Axis and its connections to the Trapil network for fuel delivery to end-consumers. We are pleased to be able to work with HAROPA PORT in driving this project, resolutely determined as we are to contribute to the reindustrialisation of the country and the decarbonisation of our economy”, declared Antoine Huard, CEO of VERSO ENERGY.
“Rouen Normandy urban district authority welcomes the arrival of Verso Energy, which will boost the drive to regenerate Rouen’s port areas, creating a new activity that will be a source of direct and indirect jobs. The urban district authority wishes to thank HAROPA PORT’s teams for their commitment to this new facility. The Seine Valley has a major role to play in decarbonising mobility and developing technologies that provide solutions. This major investment is a contribution to that”, underscored Nicolas Mayer Rossignol, chair of the Rouen Normandy urban district authority, Abdelkrim Marchani, vice-chair with responsibility for the economy, attractiveness, higher education and research, student affairs, digital technology, Europe and international affairs, and Nicolas Rouly, vice-chair of the city authority and mayor of Grand-Quevilly.
“In France, Normandy Regional Authority has shown itself to be a pioneer in the development of new uses for hydrogen. As an industrial region in the first rank, comprising sectors of great importance such as logistics and ports, as well as an energy mix among the most diversified in France, Normandy enjoys exceptional advantages for the development of what is an energy source of the future. It is for that reason that very early on the Regional Authority identified hydrogen as an essential resource not only for its energy transition but also as a vector for decarbonised growth. I am delighted to see the creation of this new industrial plant for the production of low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels on HAROPA PORT land in Grand-Quevilly. This project is absolutely a contribution to achieving the Regional Authority’s ambitions for the industrial development of Normandy and comes as one more in a long series of industrial investments on the Seine Axis, the favoured location of the leading national port complex, which possesses extraordinary potential for becoming a region at the crossroads of global economic flows, making it a participant in the reindustrialisation of our economy and at the same time a promoter of a more virtuous development model”, stated Hervé Morin, chair of Normandy Regional Authority.
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, impacting nearly 700 marine species and contaminating the marine food chain with toxic pollutants.
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic. Since 2018, different technologies have been tested with the support of Maersk Supply Service’s and A.P. Moller - Maersk’s logistics and marine activities. The Ocean Cleanup has now successfully established a system which can consistently capture significant quantities of plastics from the ocean. The next step for The Ocean Cleanup is to validate the system from an engineering and ecological perspective, allowing it to demonstrate to governments, institutions and other funders that there is a viable technology available to clean the oceans from plastics.'
Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller - Maersk and The Ocean Cleanup have agreed to extend their collaboration to complete the validation of the system. Maersk Supply Service and A.P. Moller - Maersk will provide support to the program, which includes project management, the operation of two Maersk Supply Service vessels towing the system as well as logistics services for waste collection and transportation for recycling. At the same time, the A.P. Moller Foundation will provide a one-time grant to The Ocean Cleanup.
The system validation is expected to be finalised by end of 2024 and will include an environmental review of the impact of plastic pollution versus the greenhouse gas emissions of vessels involved.
When the technology and system has been validated, The Ocean Cleanup believes it will be able to raise support from the public, governments, and other foundations to significantly scale up the operation from 2025 onwards.
"Maersk Supply Service and A.P. Moller - Maersk have been instrumental on the journey from initial concept to a working system in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and I am tremendously grateful for their commitment to get us towards the point we are ready for scale-up, with the additional donation from the A.P. Moller Foundation being a welcome contribution to our 2024 mission." Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup.
"The Ocean Cleanup holds an important mission to remove plastics from the oceans, one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Today plastic pollution impacts hundreds of marine species and it contaminates the marine food chain with toxic pollutants. With this in mind, Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller - Maersk and the A.P. Moller Foundation have decided to extend support to The Ocean Cleanup to finalise and validate their technology and system." Robert M. Uggla, CEO of A.P. Moller Holding and Chair of A.P. Moller - Maersk.
The agreement between Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller – Maersk and The Ocean Cleanup will run until end 2024.
DHL has been appointed by Hilti Ireland in a new UK&I contract until May 2025, which builds on the existing relationship in other markets around the world.
The new contract will see DHL leverage its scale and breadth as a full-service logistics group by co-ordinating two of its business arms, DHL Supply Chain and DHL Express, to provide warehouse and transport services respectively.
DHL will deliver customised solutions to Hilti, with the two business units able to communicate and work together seamlessly.
Operating out of Dublin Airport Business Park, Hilti will benefit from strong air and road links. To support Hilti’s business growth, DHL will use its expertise and experience in the sector to drive warehouse efficiency in line with newly developed, ambitious KPIs targeting improved customer experience and reduced lead times.
Ahead of the contract commencing, DHL’s staff underwent additional health and safety training to equip and qualify them to handle dangerous goods within Hilti’s portfolio.
Damien Schmutz, General Manager, Hilti Ireland said: “It has been a very busy period in the lead up to launching our partnership with DHL and we would like to thank both teams for their hard work and commitment. The complete DHL offering, from warehousing to transport, will support us in delivering an efficient and reliable service to our customers, meeting our business needs and coping effectively with changes in demand.”
Gavin Murdoch, MD Network Transport Solutions, DHL Supply Chain UK&I said: “We are very proud of our colleagues for going above and beyond to deliver a high-quality warehousing solution for Hilti in a limited timeframe. Hilti is a valued strategic global partner, and we are delighted to be supporting their Ireland operation.”
Brian Murray, Commercial & Same Day Director, DHL Express said: The Hilti partnership brings together all the advantages of working with the DHL Group. The DHL Express division will provide exceptional market-leading Express delivery service, reinforced by the industry's largest local service support team. Additionally, Hilti gains access to innovative transport solutions from DHL's Same Day Services for specialized deliveries beyond the Express option. We look forward to working closely with Hilti and our sister company DHL Supply Chain on this new partnership.
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Over 7,300 participants from more than 60 countries attended the inaugural transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia, with resilient supply chains, sustainability and digitalization were the dominant themes at this first transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia, which took place in Singapore from 1 to 3 November 2023.
Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, and China were represented with official country pavilions. During more than 50 conference sessions covering current industry topics, visitors had the opportunity to gain insight into industry trends.
The participation of 135 exhibitors from 23 countries and over 7,300 industry professionals at the first transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia reflects the great economic potential of the region. Key factors include the advantageous geographical location, growing consumer demand and the desire of numerous companies to diversify their production and supply chains.
"The positive response to the inaugural transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia shows the enormous interest in the Southeast Asian logistics market and is a confirmation of the decision to expand the transport logistic cluster to this region. The trade fair offered decision-makers an efficient and practical platform for exchanging ideas in person and establishing and expanding business relationships," says Michael Wilton, CEO & Managing Director of MMI Asia, Messe München Regional HQ, Singapore.
Ravishankar Mirle, Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations, Far East & Australasia from Emirates SkyCargo, also confirms this impression: "I think it has been a very good experience for the last three days. We have had some action-packed activities, and it has been an opportune moment for the logistics ecosystem to convene together. We have been at the time where we’re just coming out of Covid, the production and distribution hubs in the region have been changing. It has been an opportune moment for us to meet our business partners, our customers, our clients – to share insights, share best practices, and to plan for the future."
As an integral part of transport logistic Southeast Asia, air cargo Southeast Asia also brought together the entire air cargo industry in Singapore. In addition to the exhibition of leading international and regional companies such as Boeing, Emirates SkyCargo, Singapore Airlines, United Cargo, Jettainer, Garuda Indonesia, MAS Kargo, Vietjet Cargo and ACL Airshop, the conference program included, for example, a panel discussion on "Building resilient and reliable airfreight solutions for high-tech cargo". During this session, experts from DB Schenker, Changi Airport and Etihad Cargo gave the audience insights into their corporate strategies.
The conference program at transport logistic Southeast Asia comprised around 50 accompanying events on two stages, providing a platform for the latest industry trends and discussions. Among the highlights of the program were the sessions on the Southeast Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia: The experts explored the extent to which diversification strategies have impacted Southeast Asian production locations and their supply chains and clearly illustrated the potential in the region. During the "Germany: Logistics from Germany - Logistics for The Future" presentation at country-focused Germany sessions, hosted by Your German Logistics (YGL), companies like BlueBox Systems, PRIOjet Logistics, and Logwin Air + Ocean International discussed technical innovations and the reliability of supply chains between Asia and Europe. On the Exhibitor Stage, companies from logistics, sea and air freight, such as DHL, dnata, Gebrüder Weiss, Incheon International Airport and Singapore Airlines, provided practical insights into their sustainability and digitalization strategies, among other things. At the same time, the special conference on Project Cargo offered up-to-date information on trends, challenges and opportunities in the general cargo and heavy lift sector in Southeast Asia.
“I think it was a great conference, for us it was wonderful because it was very effective and impactful. We did get a chance to meet a lot of shippers, airlines and supply chain enthusiasts. Especially because Messe München originates from Germany, we did have a lot of leverage out of exposure into the European market, and Wiz as a company is definitely looking at Europe as the next step in terms of our expansion. There was also a lot of emphasis on digital transformation, which is of course something on which Wiz bases its expansion on. From that perspective, it did makes sense, and it was a great conference. Congratulations to Messe München!” summarizes Bipin Chinnappa, CCO – APAC & Head – Global Accounts of Wiz Logtec Solutions.
The next transport logistic Southeast Asia and air cargo Southeast Asia will take place from 29 to 31 October 2025 at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore.
Rotate has launched a real-time capacity and market intelligence tool to support commercial and strategic decision-making within the air cargo industry.
Containing live updated flight data from thousands of airlines, more than 9000 airports and over 200 aircraft types, Rotate’s Live Capacity tool offers unrivalled insight into the supply side of the air cargo market. Moreover, Rotate is making this tool available free-of-charge to air cargo companies.
“The air cargo industry has long been investing in digital and technology solutions, which have led to ever-increasing amounts of data being produced and stored every day. The true challenge, now, is not in collecting more data; it is in putting that data to good use and formulating real actions that improve commercial and operational decisions,” says Gert-Jan Jansen, Co-Founder of Rotate. “Our Rotate Live Capacity tool supports a range of functions within the air cargo industry, from network design to business development, benchmarking, carrier management, pricing, and market trend analysis. Access to real-time data also opens up a whole new range of use-cases going forward – such as pricing and revenue management, for example.”
The need for real-time market information is a long-standing request from the air cargo industry. With the Live Capacity tool, users have real-time access to global capacity information based on flight tracking data covering millions of flights from thousands of airlines, over 9000 airports and more than 200 different aircraft types. The data has been filtered, cleaned, and enriched to deliver unique, real-time insight into changes and trends in air cargo capacity. Rotate’s team combines air cargo experts, strategy consultants, and technology professionals who collaborated closely with customers to build an inhouse analytics platform which enabled the design of this completely customized dashboard and analytics environment, focusing on ease-of-use and flexibility.
Ryan Keyrouse, Co-Founder of Rotate, explains: “Data has grown into a commodity. With this in mind, we want to democratise the availability of high-quality market data and are therefore taking a pioneering approach by offering access to our Live Capacity tool for free to the air cargo industry. Airlines, airports, handlers, forwarders, OEMs, GSAs, and other industry-related companies can register to access the tool, free-of-charge. Our belief is that the real value is not the market data itself, but rather in the interpretation and the analysis of this data, which drives actions and better decisions. To further support this, we have placed a strong focus on ease-of-use to allow all users to navigate the platform easily and quickly.”
It is the first time that this kind of high-quality market data is available for free. The Capacity Live tool will be enhanced with unique premium features over time, as Rotate continues to address requests and feedback from its customers and other CargoTech members. Premium features will include capacity forecasts, pro-active and personalized alerts on capacity changes, indirect capacity overviews, a competitive position analyser, and additional data granularity such a charter identification, for example. “We envision a broader suite of live air cargo data going forward, as we are always looking into innovative ways to bring valuable real-time data to the market, now and in the future,” Gert-Jan Jansen concludes.
Port of Bilbao, Port of Amsterdam and duisport, together with the Energy Agency of the Basque Government, Petronor, Evos Amsterdam and Zenith Energy Terminals, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the development of an intra-European corridor for renewable hydrogen connecting end-to-end Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.
The MoU follows the ambitions of the European Union to establish such intra-European corridors, with the Spanish, German and Dutch governments playing a prominent role in their realisation.
The MoU builds on an agreement concluded earlier this year between Bilbao and Amsterdam, with the specific aim of initiating a viable corridor that allows for Basque produced renewable hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives to be exported to the port of Amsterdam for local offtake. With the addition of duisport, this corridor can be extended, with port of Amsterdam transforming into the gateway to the German market, opening up the possibility to supply Basque hydrogen to the large industrial offtakers located in the Rhine-Ruhr region.
As part of their cooperation, the parties will focus on production of renewable hydrogen by Petronor in the Basque Country, identification of offtake potential and demand centres in Duisburg and its surrounding industrial regions, as well as an evaluation of transportation, storage and distribution methods to provide solutions to secure the supply of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives to the respective end-users.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Andima Ormaetxe, Director Operations, Commercial and Logistics of Port of Bilbao; Markus Bangen, CEO of duisport; Aitor Arzuaga, Director General of Alba Emission Free Energy by Petronor; Iñigo Ansola, General Manager of EVE (Basque Energy Agency); Gert-Jan Nieuwenhuizen, Managing Director of Port of Amsterdam International; Ellen Ruhotas, Head of New Energies of Zenith Energy Terminals; and Bart van der Meer, Business Development Manager New Energies of EVOS Group.
Andima Ormaetxe, Director Operations, Commercial and Logistics of Port of Bilbao, said: “Port of Bilbao is one of the four ports ranked as first level by Spanish Ports National Institution, leading the environmental policies in Spain. Port of Bilbao is also a hub for short sea shipping, facilitating around 30% of trade between Spain and Europe. It is our aim to become carbon neutral by 2050 and therefore green corridors between Bilbao, the Netherlands and Germany are of importance to help decarbonize, not only the Basque Country Industry, but also other industrial regions within Europe.”
Duisport is Europe’s largest inland port and aims to become a European hydrogen hub, with a pioneering role in the utilisation of new energy sources for climate-neutral port and terminal operations. Markus Bangen, CEO of duisport, said: “By expanding this trusting cooperation, we are sending an important signal for cross-border collaboration: only by working together we can master global challenges such as the energy transition and quickly develop a Europe-wide hydrogen network. The aim is to work at full speed to make the transport chains between the western ports noticeably more resilient and to optimize the infrastructure. In this way, the Port of Duisburg is not only further expanding its function as a central logistics hub for Europe, but is also strengthening industry in the Rhine-Ruhr region and in NRW as a whole.”
The ambition of Port of Amsterdam is to become, not only a key destination of imported renewable hydrogen and its derivatives, but also to serve as a transhipment hub to supply these to the German hinterland, mirroring the current role of the port of Amsterdam as a global energy hub. Dorine Bosman, Chief Investment Officer at Port of Amsterdam, stated: “As a partner, Port of Amsterdam is committed to contribute to the decarbonisation of industries within Europe. We believe that the development of these intra-European hydrogen corridors is essential. The port of Amsterdam has a key role to play as a conduit for hydrogen and e-fuels to the Rhine-Ruhr area. This supply is of vital strategic importance on a European level, which is why our shared focus with duisport on the resilience of the supply chain is crucial. This way, we can bring a corridor for hydrogen and e-fuels between a strong production region like the Basque Country and the port of Duisburg to life.”
During the act duisport and Port of Amsterdam signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) to conduct a detailed study on all aspects related to establishing a resilient supply chain for hydrogen between Amsterdam and the Rhine-Ruhr region
Both agreements were signed signed during the H2 Connecting Event in Duisburg in the presence of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander; State Secretary for Energy in the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Philipp Nimmermann; State Secretary for the Extractive Industries in the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change, Hans Vijlbrief; Prime Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst; and Deputy Premier and Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mona Neubaur, as official witnesses.
