In Menist’s view, this has made the RH₂INE programme even more urgent. Inland navigation needs to decarbonise because of the climate crisis and modernise in order to regain market share. Menist would like to express this clearly and unambiguously in order to raise awareness among policymakers and all players in the production and logistics chains. In his view, governments should take an even stronger lead to implement the many plans that exist within RH₂INE. At the same time, the big, well-capitalised market players should live up to their responsibility and do their bit. Only together progress can be made.
Menno Menist
What people don’t realise, or don’t realise enough, is that doing nothing, or doing it slowly, also costs money
Fund for inland navigation Everyone knows that the transition will cost a lot of money. Menist promotes the idea of setting up a substantial million-euro fund for the modernisation of inland navigation. The money should come from financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, Rabobank, insurance companies and pension funds. “National governments should contribute, but a fund should also include the parties that ultimately benefit, such as the really big shipping companies, shippers, gas suppliers, builders of port infrastructure, shipyards, engine builders, etc. With that money, projects along the entire inland navigation value chain can be set up.” The best way to spend the money, according to Menist, is by defining priorities: what do you want to ‘green-up’ first and what do you need to do to get there? Secondly he proposes a modular approach: start modestly, aiming to build it up further. “What people don’t realise, or don’t realise enough, is that doing nothing, or doing it slowly, also costs a lot of money. The price tag of pollution, of floods, of high and low water levels, of job losses, these hidden costs should flow into a comprehensive social cost-benefit analysis.”
Inland ports Menist foresees a key role for ports in the realisation of the green corridor. “More and more functions will be consolidated in inland ports, aimed at providing goods and services for the people in the immediate region. The green corridor vision might help ports to improve their efficiency. As ports will be more embedded in communities, they can share the pains and benefits
Daniela Schmitt, minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of Rhineland Palatinate, at the signing of the Declaration of Intent ‘Perspectives for Sustainable Rhine Navigation 2030’ in Düsseldorf, 2024.
Photo Mark Hermenau - Land Nordrhein-Westfalen.
linked to the energy transition easier.” Well-planned and in good communication with the citizens of the region, ports can bring momentum to the energy transition.
State advocates inland navigation This is where the state of Rhineland-Palatinate comes into play within the RH₂INE project, namely how to make smaller inland ports ‘fit’ for the realisation of the Green Corridor. Daniela Schmitt, minister for economic affairs, traffic, agriculture and viticulture of Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as an advocate of inland navigation, explains. “We focus on what we call ‘soft skills’. We sensitize and motivate the ports along the Rhine on the topic of hydrogen and we provide them with knowledge. This includes advising the ports on necessary permits, labor requirements, construction measures and so on, so that they can prepare themselves for their future tasks.”
Rhineland-Palatinate’s involvement in RH₂INE is an extension of the research, development and application of hydrogen for the mobility sector that has been taking place in and around Mainz for more than a decade. These activities range from the production of green hydrogen from wind energy and its use by buses and garbage trucks to the construction and operation of filling stations. The experience and expertise gained will now be applied to inland navigation and shared with port and terminal operators. The focus is pragmatic: on what is technically possible and legally permissible, and what remains to be done.
Port handbook The state of Rhineland-Palatinate is conducting a study of which the results will be compiled in a port handbook in 2026. At the
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