Vopak focuses on hydrogen imports in Rotterdam with German company

Tank storage company Vopak and German hydrogen company Hydrogenious are starting a joint venture in the storage, transport and supply of hydrogen via hydrogen carrier benzyltoluene. Through LOHC Logistix, the companies are committing to building a plant in Rotterdam that can initially decouple 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day from this carrier.

No final decision on the investment has been made yet. This will first require, among other things, the licensing process to be completed successfully. Both parent companies have, however, committed financially to the project. In June 2022, Vopak announced that it would invest €1 billion in new energy and sustainable commodities until 2030.

LOHC technology

LOHC Logistix’s ambition is to ‘take hydrogen logistics to the next level’. It does so based on the LOHC technology developed by Hydrogenious.

LOHCs (liquid organic hydrogen carriers) facilitate the transport and storage of hydrogen by binding it to a chemical compound, a hydrogen carrier such as a paste or an oil. Without such a carrier, the transport of hydrogen would require a temperature of -253°C. By comparison, for LNG (liquefied natural gas) this is -160°C. In addition, storing hydrogen without a carrier requires tanks that can withstand extremely high pressures. When using an LOHC, this is not necessary.