Making industry more sustainable

Cooperation and organisation

In 2020, progress was made at an organisational level in particular toward improved cooperation between the stakeholders concerned in making industry more sustainable. The 'Rotterdam Port Industry Complex Infrastructure' Working Group proved to be effective in placing barriers to infrastructure development on the agenda. The participants in the consultative body are the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Stedin, Deltalinqs, TenneT, Gasunie, the Province of South Holland, the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT).

Progress was also made at the national level toward creating an overview and instruments that lead to improved coordination between industry and grid operators.

Industry Climate Agreement Infrastructure Task Force (TIKI)

The Industry Climate Agreement Infrastructure Task Force (TIKI) was established by Eric Wiebes, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, to identify the challenges in creating the infrastructure needed for enhancing sustainability. The Task Force consists of chair Carolien Gehrels (Arcadis), Marc van der Linden (Stedin Group) and Hans Grünfeld (VEMW). The Task Force was instructed to identify and list bottlenecks, conditions and potential solutions for creating the necessary infrastructure. The total investment costs for public infrastructure (including the national hydrogen backbone) until 2030 are estimated to be €40 billion to €50 billion. This excludes private investments by industry that are needed to implement projects and local infrastructure.

Energy Strategy Cluster & Data Safe House

A key recommendation by the Task Force, which was adopted by the minister, is the development of an Energy Strategies Cluster (CES). Within the CESs, the industrial parties and grid operators work together to coordinate the projects with infrastructure development, and vice versa. Stedin is collaborating in the Rotterdam Port Industry Complex on further defining and elaborating a CES for 2021. The CES will be continuously updated and refined in 2022 and beyond.

A key condition for a good CES is reliable technical and planning data on the industrial projects to be developed. As the exchange of relevant data between industrial enterprises and grid operators is often complicated by competition rules and sensitivity to competition, the Task Force has proposed a safe house in which data about proposed investments by industry and grid operators can be exchanged in a safe and confidential environment.

In 2020, Deltalinqs, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Stedin launched a pilot for developing such a data safe house. In this pilot, we work with three to five companies on choices regarding technical design (ICT technology and security choices) and the governance structure of the safe house. The pilot is intended to provide insight into the applicability of such a safe house with the aim of improving predictability and planning certainty with regard to infra­structural needs. The first insights are expected in Q2 2021.

Project Gridmaster: developing adaptive investment strategies

This project aims to develop a set of interfaced models and methods that enable us to explore the many uncertainties within the transition of the industry. We also seek to gain better insight into 1) possible transition pathways, 2) the necessary infrastructure and 3) the possible investment strategies. This model enables parties to cope with the many uncertainties in the development of electricity, hydrogen and natural gas grids and the various investments they entail. The parties signed the cooperation agreement in 2020 and initiated the project at the end of 2020. Participating parties are Stedin, TenneT, Gasunie, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Province of South Holland, the Municipality of Rotterdam, SmartPort, TU Delft, Siemens, Quintel and the Netherlands Organi­sation for Applied Scientific Research.

Energy Mix Study project

In the Energy Mix project, we identify the potential changes affecting the energy and raw material systems of roughly 30 companies in the Rotterdam Port Industry Cluster. We do this in cooperation with the companies. Based on interviews, we compile the current energy and raw materials profile of each production and consumption unit. The experts then determine the potential sustainable alternatives for each unit and translate them into transition pathways. Ultimately, this creates an overall picture for the area. In 2020, phase 2 of the project was carried out by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and Deltalinqs on behalf of Stedin and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. In this phase, 42 companies were approached and 31 confirmed their participation in the study. Data have meanwhile been gathered for 22 companies, and an analysis has been carried out for 12 companies. This analysis leads to a 'business as usual' (BAU) transition pathway and three transition pathways yet to be followed for the industry in the Rotterdam Port Industry Cluster: BAU and CCS (carbon capture and storage), BAU and hydrogen and BAU and electrification. A substantial increase (up to four to five times as much) in demand for electricity is foreseen in all four scenarios.

The second half of 2020 saw the start of phase 3, in which the remaining companies were analysed. Gasunie entered the group of commissioning parties for this phase.

System study in South Holland

In 2020, a system study was carried out into the energy structures in the province of South Holland in various scenarios. The study is in line with the national infrastructure review II3050, which is being carried out within the framework of Netbeheer Nederland.

The energy grid in this energy-intensive province needs to be expanded with new distribution substations and electricity cables. It is striking that most bottlenecks in this province are caused by electricity usage, unlike many other provinces, where bottlenecks are attributable to sustainable energy generation.

The study was carried out in close cooperation with the Province of South Holland, the RES coordination teams, the three regional grid managers (Liander, Westland and Stedin) and the two national grid managers (TenneT and Gasunie) by a consortium of CE Delft, Quintel and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research. The joint implementation of the study with multiple stakeholders across sectors (built environment, mobility, industry, agriculture) and for various energy carriers (electricity, gas, including natural gas, biogas, hydrogen, heat and CO₂) appears to offer a template for future integrated studies.