Valencia, 15 January 2023.- Everything is now ready for the Port of Valencia to become the first European port to deploy hydrogen technology in its activity. On Tuesday 17 January, the filling test of this clean fuel will take place at the hydrogen plant located on the Xità quay.
The tank that will receive the hydrogen and the mobile refuelling station that will charge it are already at the Port of Valencia facilities. During the previous days, the technicians have been carrying out leak and pressure tests to determine whether the storage tank is leaking and to check that the operation is working properly. Specifically, these tests have been carried out using helium and nitrogen gas mixed with a small proportion of hydrogen, simulating the real conditions of the manoeuvre at high pressures.
Next Tuesday, the tank will be filled with hydrogen, the most abundant chemical element in nature, a colourless, odourless and non-toxic gas found in water or biomass, which can be stored for long periods of time. Technicians from Valenciaport, the National Hydrogen Centre and Carburos Metálicos are participating in this operation.
The refuelling process in a hydrogen station is very similar to that of a conventional petrol station, although the hydrogen is supplied at high pressure. In the near future, the two prototypes of vehicles that will receive this fuel of the future will arrive at the Port of Valencia to be tested at the Valencian site. Specifically, they will be tested on a reach stacker vehicle which will be powered by this energy and will operate at MSC Terminal Valencia; and on a 4×4 tractor unit equipped with a set of fuel cells for testing in the loading/unloading activities at Valencia Terminal Europa of the Grimaldi Group.
This initiative is part of H2PORTS -Implementing Fuel Cells and Hyrdogen Technologies in Ports-. The project is coordinated by Fundación Valenciaport and funded by the European Union’s Clean Hydrogen JU programme. Its objective is to test and validate hydrogen technologies on port machinery that allow for applicable and real solutions without affecting the performance and safety of port operations and producing zero emissions.
The H2Ports project will involve a total investment of more than 4 million euros and involves, in addition to Fundación Valenciaport and the Port Authority of Valencia, the research centres Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno and Atena Distretto Alta Tecnologia Energia Ambiente and the private companies MSC Terminal Valencia, Grimaldi Group, Hyster-Yale, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Carburos Metálicos and Enagás.
