The coalition will connect US fuel producers to heavy-industry consumers in Europe to help facilitate an inaugural shipment of clean hydrogen-based fuels by 2026, aiming to grow transatlantic trade to three million metric tons annually by the end of this decade.
Houston, Texas – October 12, 2023
The Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), RMI, Systemiq, Power2X, and industry leaders have formed a coalition to encourage and enable shipment of the first shipment of clean hydrogen from the United States to Europe by 2026. The Transatlantic Clean Hydrogen Trade Coalition (H2TC) will concentrate on supporting first movers in the US Gulf Coast and Northwestern Europe, with the goal of facilitating trade of more than three million metric tons per year of hydrogen in the form of ammonia and methanol through this corridor by 2030.
The breakthrough effort engages market players from suppliers to offtakers, as well as important market-making entities including major ports and associations in the United States and Europe. Coalition partners include the Center for Houston’s Future, the Port of Corpus Christi, and the Port of Rotterdam. MPP will serve as its Secretariat. The coalition is building membership, and its work has thus far been endorsed by over 20 companies central to the developing hydrogen economy including Ambient Fuels, Apex Clean Energy, Buckeye, BAES Infrastructure, Intersect Power, Linde, LyondellBasell, NextEra Energy, OCI, Shell, STX, Trafigura and Zhero.
The announcement comes close to a year and a half after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis, which critically affected European heavy industry. H2TC aims to significantly contribute to the EU’s goal of importing 10 million metric tons per year of renewable hydrogen by 2030.
Clean hydrogen provides a vital substitute for fossil fuels in essential industries such as fertilizer production and steelmaking, and its derivatives are the leading alternative to highly polluting bunker fuel in maritime shipping. Producers from the US Gulf Coast are expected to be among the most cost-competitive clean hydrogen exporters to Europe, given the region’s world-class ports, existing energy infrastructure networks, access to specialized labor, and other strategic advantages.
H2TC will grant members access to in-depth analysis of regulatory and infrastructure requirements, supply and demand matching, and integration with capital markets. Members plan to collaborate closely with US and European governments to help them attain clean energy targets and inform regulatory frameworks to enable trade.
“H2TC marks an important step to open the gateway for cross-Atlantic shipments of clean hydrogen. The capacity to import relatively cheap clean hydrogen from the US to complement local production will have a direct and significant impact on the European industry’s efforts to deploy clean production processes at scale, including in the fertilizer, steel, and shipping sectors,” said Chad Holliday, Co-Chair of Mission Possible Partnership. “More broadly, it underscores the potential of targeted coalitions to overcome the critical next stage challenges to operationalizing net-zero commitments.”
“The US Gulf Coast is at the forefront of the energy transition and is the world’s most attractive market to deliver low-emissions hydrogen. The region has the connective tissue in pipelines and salt dome storage, the low-cost renewables, and the know-how to produce, manage and transport molecules needed to deliver hydrogen to the world.” said Jacob Susman, founder and CEO of Ambient Fuels. “Promoting the export of hydrogen derivatives will enable the broader US hydrogen ecosystem to scale up much faster.”
“We consider the US Gulf Coast a natural home for the development of a clean hydrogen and ammonia production and distribution facility,” said Jamie Cemm, CEO of BAES Infrastructure. “With the ability to leverage the existing infrastructure of our parent company, Buckeye Energy Holdings, in Corpus Christi, we are well placed to provide cost competitive solutions to global hydrogen demands. We look forward to collaborating with our partners in H2TC to make this a reality.”
“The opportunity to produce affordable clean hydrogen at scale has been enabled by the US Inflation Reduction Act,” said David Burns, Vice President Clean Energy, Linde. "Linde is uniquely positioned with capabilities throughout the hydrogen value chain and an extensive network of hydrogen assets along the US Gulf Coast. We are pleased to leverage these assets and our experience to support the efforts of this Coalition to kickstart a transatlantic clean hydrogen economy between the US and the EU."
“NextEra Energy Resources is honored to be one of the industry leaders that is supporting this effort,” said Ross Groffman, vice president of hydrogen development for NextEra Energy Resources. “We are excited and continue to back initiatives that advance the green hydrogen economy."
“This collaboration is the next iteration of our longstanding relationship with the Port of Rotterdam, wherein we’re able to offer end-to-end value to our shared customer base,” said Jeff Pollack, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer for the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas. “Our ambition is to leverage existing infrastructure and existing commercial connections to create the most efficient path for delivery of US-produced clean hydrogen to European markets.”
“The Coalition brings together a group of private and public sector leaders that have the ambition and the capability to make clean hydrogen trade happen this decade,” said Bryan Fisher, managing director of RMI and director of hubs at MPP. “We are proud to be a part of this collaboration, bringing energy security and helping the energy transition on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“Rotterdam is Europe’s main import hub for crude, oil products and coal. We’re rapidly becoming Europe’s hydrogen hub as well,” said Nico van Dooren, Director of New Business & Portfolio Management at the Port of Rotterdam. “For the last three years we’ve been scouting the world for green hydrogen, and Texas is one of the most promising locations to export substantial volumes of this renewable energy to Rotterdam within a few years’ time.”
“The US Gulf Coast is set to become an early and timely source of hydrogen imports for Europe in support of the decarbonization of European industry. Companies from every step of the value chain are joining the H2TC. This shows they are serious about making this happen,” said Eveline Speelman, Partner at Systemiq.
“We welcome the creation of H2TC to facilitate the shipment of renewable hydrogen-based fuels from producers in the US Gulf Coast to heavy industrial users in Europe by 2026,” said Julien Rolland, Head of Strategic Projects and Investments for Trafigura. “Cost-efficient and safe transport of renewable hydrogen-based fuels will be an important enabler of the energy transition.”
Media inquiries please contact:
Europe: Vicki Harding, Head of Communications, Mission Possible Partnership, Vicki.Harding@missionpossiblepartnership.org
US: Alexandra Jardine Wall, Strategic Communications Manager, RMI: awall@rmi.org
Notes to Editors
About Mission Possible Partnership
The Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) is an alliance of leading companies and climate action organizations working to decarbonize seven hard-to-abate industrial and mobility sectors: aluminum, aviation, cement and concrete, chemicals, shipping, steel and trucking. MPP’s 2030 Milestones are real-economy targets for action in this decade to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, developed from sector transition strategies endorsed by more than 200 companies. MPP was founded to foster radical collaboration between stakeholders in industry, finance, policy and markets by four partners: Energy Transitions Commission, RMI, We Mean Business Coalition and the World Economic Forum.
About RMI
RMI, founded as Rocky Mountain Institute, is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Systemiq
Systemiq is a collaborative system designer that provides coalition building, specialist advisory services, leadership transformation, policy development, redesign of markets and value chains, capital mobilization, on-the-ground action, and incubation of and investment in early-stage businesses. Founded in 2016 to drive the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, Systemiq aims to bring speed and scale to transform five key systems: energy, nature and food, materials, the built environment, and finance. Systemiq achieves their goals by developing trusted, wholehearted partnerships with leaders in civil society, innovative investors, government, business, and finance.
About Power 2X
Power2X accelerates the energy and feedstock transition by delivering solutions from strategy to operation in all energy intensive value chains. They focus on projects for clean and green molecules such as green (and blue) hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and biofuels. The company works with large scale industry decarbonization projects, both in existing and newly built plants, to meet their energy transition goals. Power2X’s involvement in these projects ranges from investment and project ownership to external advisership.