Working together crucial in making inland shipping sector more sustainable
RH2INE project makes significant contribution to emission-free Rhine corridor
Five years ago, the province of South Holland and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) launched the RH2INE initiative to promote emission- free inland shipping on the Rhine corridor. Irma Kenter, domain director of the province of South Holland and Michael Theben, director for climate action at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of Northrhine-Westfalia, have been involved from the start.
The idea for RH₂INE came from the province of South Holland. Irma Kenter was the driving force behind it. Five years ago when inland shipping was not really on the province’s radar. And that while a modal shift to water seems obvious enough. Kenter found that particularly surprising, given that inland shipping is quite important in South Holland, with the port of Rotterdam and various other large inland ports in the region.
Joining the network Kenter decided not to set up the transition to hydrogen in South Holland alone, but to expand it and seek cooperation with other parties, far beyond the own region, even into Germany. This working together in the RH₂INE project is the most important. Information and possibilities must be shared along the entire Rhine-corridor. “We are facing the same issues. We wanted to bring together as many parties as possible. That is necessary, otherwise changing to hydrogen is not feasible. For example, if skippers cannot load and unload standard tank containers, it will be difficult to sail with hydrogen as energy supplier,” Kenter explains. Working together also plays a major role in the infrastructure, which is exactly why Kenter is so pleased that many ports have also joined RH₂INE. “It is not just the skippers who have to solve it. If there is no charging infrastructure, it will not work. One charging point isn’t enough. It is about an entire chain that is set in motion. It is about combining forces, about logistical chains and efficient use of the waterways.” In the last five years, a whole network of ports has joined, all the way to Basel, and a large number of provinces and regions are participating.
Irma Kenter (province of South-Holland) Foto’s Erwin van der Linden
One of the possibilities It was clear to Kenter that developing more sustainable ways of transport were urgently needed. Kenter: “I knew right from the start that if we want to achieve a transition in inland shipping, it would be a long-term process. If it were a simple issue, it would have been solved long ago. The ease with which it was said that it was not possible, made me think about what would be possible instead.” She delved into the possibilities of making a switch to hydrogen. Kenter explains: “For inland shipping, you can look at ways to make it sustainable independently of fuel. Hydrogen is one of the most complex ways. There are many doomsday scenarios for hydrogen. I think I have heard them all in recent years. And yes, hydrogen is certainly not suitable and intended for all ships. There are many types of ships, sailing areas and cargoes. For short distances for example, hydrogen is too expensive for some ships. For large and heavy ships that sail upstream, hydrogen is an option, for others there are other solutions. Is it the one and only solution? No, it is a part of a whole. This is just added to the range of possibilities.”
Across borders One of the parties that has been involved in RH₂INE from the start is the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Director Michael Theben: “We had to do something. The transport sector urgently needed new solutions. Nobody had thought about an emission- free Rhine corridor before. Until RH₂INE. It was exciting to start something new. I have never regretted participating for a moment. RH₂INE is about the basic idea of working together and finding solutions together. What are the problems and the solutions and how do we get everyone on board with us, that’s are the questions we’re working on. We involved all relevant stakeholders who are concerned with inland shipping along the Rhine and bordering waterways, to find a solution that works for everyone. It is a large area, across multiple regions and borders. The Rhine corridor does not end in the Netherlands.”
Theben, like Kenter, focuses on a broader spectrum than just his own region. But a wider focus alone is not enough to make the Rhine corridor emission-free. For Theben, standardisation is high on the list of challenges. He is referring to the interchangeable hydrogen tank containers – ‘H₂-TankTainers’ . The first projects with H₂-TankTainers have already started. Theben: “It is about finding hopefully the best solution for the start, not three to five different systems. These TankTainers have been widely discussed and are widely supported. We are now trying to get them standardised in Europe.”
4 • RH2INE
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