- The H2 storage tank has been loaded with H2 and next week the mobile hydrogen generator will be filled
- During this first quarter of the year, the other two prototypes of this project will arrive at the Valencian precinct: a 'Reachstacker' or container stacker and a 4x4 tractor unit
- The Port of Valencia is a pioneer in Europe in the use of hydrogen technology in terminal operations
According to American Journal of Transportation article published on January 17, 2023, Valencia is the Port of Hydrogen. The Valencian precinct has received the first load of hydrogen (H2) to supply the refueling station. This historic milestone makes it the first port in Europe to have a hydrogen installation in real operating conditions. It is the only installation capable of supplying the needs of the terminals through the mobile hydrogen plant and the fixed tank that stores this fuel. A turning point for the port community and the European ports to start testing one of the fuels of the future.
This hydrogen supply station (HRS) includes a fixed part dedicated to the reception, storage, and compression of hydrogen up to delivery pressure, on which the test was carried out today, and a mobile part that stores the compressed hydrogen and has a dispenser for refueling the port machinery.
This morning at 10.30 a.m. the first tube trailer of green hydrogen cylinders arrived at the hydrogen plant and was loaded into the storage tank at the Port of Valencia. Next week, the mobile station will be loaded and will be responsible for traveling to the MSC and Grimaldi terminals to supply hydrogen to the two prototypes of port machinery, which will arrive in the near future, where this clean fuel will be tested.
Specifically, it will be tested in a 'Reachstacker' vehicle or container stacker and in a 4x4 tractor unit. In the coming weeks, a team of dockers and technicians from Valenciaport will travel to Holland to test the Reachstacker, which is being designed by Hyster Europe. The ro-ro tractor is being adapted by Atena Distretto. Both will run on fuel cells and electric motors, which will be powered by H2, and will be zero-emission.
Project supported by the European Union
This initiative is part of H2Ports -Implementing Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technologies in Ports-. It is an initiative coordinated by the Valenciaport Foundation in collaboration with the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and is financed by the European Union's Clean Hydrogen JU program. Its main objective is to test and validate hydrogen technologies on port machinery that will provide applicable and real solutions without affecting the performance and safety of port operations and producing zero local emissions. The Port of Valencia started working with hydrogen in 2019 before this project was launched.
The H2Ports project will entail a total investment of more than 4 million euros and involves, in addition to the Valenciaport Foundation and the APV, the research centers Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno and Atena Distretto Alta Tecnologia Energia Ambiente and the private companies MSC Terminal Valencia, Grimaldi Group, Hyster-Yale, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Carburos Metálicos and Enagás.
