High-ranking representatives of duisport and Port of Antwerp-Bruges have signed a long-term cooperation agreement. duisport CEO Markus Bangen and Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, sealed the far-reaching partnership in the presence of Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport, Oliver Krischer, as well as the Deputy Mayor of the City of Antwerp and President of the Board of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Annick De Ridder, attended the event, as did Josef Hovenjürgen, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitisation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
At the heart of the agreement is the expansion of cooperation in the areas of energy transition, rail and hinterland connections, and port infrastructure. All three areas are of outstanding importance for the reliable supply of industry and the stabilisation of supply chains between Germany and Belgium and within Europe.
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Supply chain for hydrogen
The European energy system will increasingly focus on sustainable energy sources, with green hydrogen carriers playing a crucial role. The development of solutions for the import, storage and distribution of green hydrogen in various forms is therefore one of the main strategic pillars of the cooperation between the two ports. The goal is to build an international supply chain for hydrogen in which both partners become central hydrogen hubs for Europe.
To achieve this goal, duisport and Port of Antwerp-Bruges want to establish a high-frequency rail shuttle in addition to planned pipeline connections and establish rail as a “rolling pipeline”. The expansion of the hinterland network, the promotion of sustainable multimodal transport connections, and the steady shift to environmentally friendly modes of transport are substantial for the realisation of the energy transition.
As both ports aim for climate neutrality by 2050, the development of environmentally friendly port handling equipment is also part of the joint agreement.
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Expansion of the Future Network
For duisport, the cooperation with Port of Antwerp-Bruges is another important step in the expansion of its future network. Similar agreements were already concluded with the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam in May and June of this year.
“Our ports have a key role in their regions as leading logistics and industrial centres and are already linked by various multimodal connections. Against the background of the current global challenges, it is only logical that we sustainably strengthen our European partner network and cooperate even more closely,” duisport CEO Markus Bangen said.
“To realise the ambitious plan to become a climate neutral continent, we have to guarantee the European industry reliable and secure access to renewable energy sources. The import, transmission and distribution of green molecules needs short, mid and long term solutions. Developing a robust multimodal supply system will be fundamental to make the change happen. And we are pleased that duisport and Port of Antwerp-Bruges are combining forces to that end,” Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, said.
