HPC initiates concept study for hydrogen bunker station in Helgoland

The municipality of Helgoland has commissioned Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) to carry out a concept study for the construction of a hydrogen bunker station on Helgoland.  

The concept study will require HPC to investigate the commercial and infrastructural suitability of the island as a potential location for H2 fuel supply for shipping traffic on the North Sea.

The study includes evaluating the market potential of alternative fuels for island shipping with the aim of estimating the potential demand.

The study will then examine the various refuelling logistics for hydrogen, taking the local infrastructural framework and conditions into consideration.

The study will lastly include initial estimates of the necessary investments in addition to evaluating and recommending such plans.

“The results of the study will better enable the municipality of Helgoland and its partners to make an investment decision based on realistic costs,” said Patrick Specht, Head of Sustainability at HPC.

Green hydrogen from the AquaPrimus project will also be available on Helgoland in the future.

The AquaPrimus Project was set up to help achieve the primary goal of the EU hydrogen strategy which was to promote the production of green hydrogen.

“Taking into account the good availability of green hydrogen in the area of the island, we would like to examine the extent to which Helgoland can also reliably provide a supply for ships calling there in the future,” said Christoph Tewis, Project Manager for AquaCore and the TransHyDE project, Helgoland.

The concept study for a hydrogen bunker station on Helgoland is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the hydrogen lead project, TransHyDe.

The TransHyDE, one of three hydrogen lead projects of the Ministry, supports the goals of the National Hydrogen Strategy in Germany, which was adopted by the Federal Government in 2020.

The hydrogen lead projects involve the research and development of new technologies and application solutions for the production, storage and transport of green hydrogen.

The commissioning of this concept study comes less than a month after HPC concluded a profitability analysis contract for a North German terminal.