Europe’s first climate-neutral container terminal based on hydrogen technology is being built in the Port of Duisburg. A concept for the complete energy transformation of the terminal is being realized as part of the joint enerPort II project. The former Coal Island in the port is becoming a model project for the future of logistics within Europe’s largest hinterland hub.
Not only is the largest container terminal in the European hinterland being built in the Port of Duisburg – it is also the first terminal with completely climate-neutral operations using hydrogen, intelligent networking, and the ability to supply neighboring districts with energy. On the site of the former Coal Island, duisport will construct the trimodal Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) by 2024 together with its international partners.
To implement the complete energy transformation of the world’s largest inland port, duisport and the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT have analyzed forward-looking technologies and developed customized models for Europe’s largest hinterland hub as part of the enerPort project. In the follow-up enerPort II project (funding code: 03EN3046), 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. Key components for this are fuel cell systems and hydrogen engines for power generation as well as battery storage.
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. A future supply of adjacent districts will also be considered on a theoretical basis.