The Port of Rotterdam will be a zero-emission port by 2050 according to Port of Rotterdam Authority Corporate Social Responsibility programme manager, Remco Neumann.
“It’s realistic to expect that industry and logistics will be virtually – or by that time, even entirely – zero-emission and silent,” he said. “In 2050, there will be no more noise pollution or air pollution and no negative environmental impact.”
Neumann noted that by 2050 solar energy, hydrogen and tidal power would be routine solutions to satisfy the growing demand for clean energy.
“In the port you can already find full electrical container terminals and hybrid vessels, the re-use of residual heat and CO2, and a rapid increase in the use of solar power,” he said. “The port area already accommodates 1.6 megawatts of generating capacity, and this is expected to increase ten-fold before the end of 2020.”
Neumann added that only 6% of operations at the Port of Rotterdam, and the Netherlands as a whole, were currently powered by renewable energy but expected this to increase exponentially.
Additionally, he pointed out that more companies in the private sector had been shifting policies to include increasingly stringent requirements for their suppliers and transport partners in the field of CO2 reduction measures.