MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide and Future Proof Shipping (FPS), a provider of zero-emission shipping solutions, have signed a long-term contract for the supply of carbon-free hydrogen to FPS’ inland barge, the Maas, which transports containers between the Netherlands and Belgium, as per Air Liquide's press release.
As part of the agreement, Air Liquide will supply carbon-free hydrogen through specially designed multi-modal hydrogen storage suited for inland barges. The overall solution enables the avoidance of CO2 emissions by nearly 2,000 tonnes/year for the first concerned ship.
The project is a milestone on the path to the decarbonisation of inland waterways. It enables the substitution of conventional fuel used in the shipping industry by hydrogen, thus reducing the sector’s environmental footprint. The solution can be easily replicated to other ships, trains and other applications.
Air Liquide and FPS also partners in the RH2INE Programme (Rhine Hydrogen Integration Network of Excellence), which aims to decarbonise inland shipping on the Rhine river and is endorsed by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management.
Diederick Luijten, Vice President Hydrogen Energy Northern Europe & CIS countries for Air Liquide, said: “We are excited to develop this innovative solution together with Future Proof Shipping by leveraging our hydrogen expertise to contribute to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. This project will help lower the environmental footprint of inland transport on waterways, a sector that represents 3.4% of the CO2 emissions in the Netherlands.”
As MRC reported earlier, Air Liquide and BASF plan to develop world largest cross-border CCS value chain. The goal is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at the industrial cluster in the port of Antwerp. The joint project Kairos@C has been selected for funding by the European Commission through its Innovation Fund, as one of the seven large-scale projects out of more than 300 applications.
We remind that BASF aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels.
We also remind that in mid-February, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted earlier that month due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other"s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,047,100 tonnes in the first ten months of 2021, up by 17% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,226,530 tonnes in January-October 2021, up by 26% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding stat-copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
Air Liquide in Benelux comprises subsidiaries active in the production, distribution, and sale of industrial and medical gases, technologies and services of the Air Liquide Group. Founded in Belgium in 1906, in the Netherlands in 1913 and in Luxembourg in 1931, Air Liquide currently operates 28 industrial sites throughout the Benelux. The Group currently employs more than 1,200 people in this region, all activities taken together, and it supplies more than 65,000 customers and patients. The Air Liquide Benelux Large Industries business line operates a pipeline network stretching 2,290 kilometers, which supplies the industrial basins from Mons to Rotterdam.
MRC