First European hydrogen-powered container terminal to be constructed in Port of Duisburg
The Port of Duisburg, the largest inland hub in Europe, will be transformed into a smart and environmentally-friendly reloading facility. To this end, several logistics companies will jointly construct a new trimodal terminal that will use hydrogen and intelligent networking.
Duisburger Hafen, an operating company of Duisport, plans to construct the trimodal Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) on the former Coal Island. The project will be completed by 2023 together with the international partners Cosco Shipping Logistics, Hupac, and the HTS Group.
“Specifically, we will implement a sustainable, hydrogen-based energy concept that aims for a high level of self-sufficiency. An intelligent local energy network couples and controls renewable energies in the form of photovoltaic and hydrogen-based combined heat and power plants with electrical and thermal energy storage systems as well as hydrogen storage and consumers such as onshore power, charging stations and crane systems,” said Alexander Garbar, deputy head of corporate development and sustainability manager at Duisport.
EnerPort
Duisport and the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT have analysed forward-looking technologies and developed customised models for Europe’s largest hinterland hub as part of the “enerPort” project. In the follow-up project “enerPort II”, the next step is now to install a sustainable energy system in the DGT that links renewable energies, energy storage, consumers and various hydrogen technologies, Power-to-X technologies. Key components for this are fuel cell systems and hydrogen engines for power generation as well as battery storage.
One special feature of the “enerPort II” project is its modular structure, which will help to continue the development of the port. It is planned to install six gantry cranes, 12 block train tracks with a length of 730 metres, and several berths for inland waterway vessels on an area of 240,000 square metres. Hydrogen-powered shunting locomotives are to be used at the DGT. An onshore power connection is available for each barge at the dock to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.