Report

Zeeland industry and ports. Compensation Package for Vlissingen Marine Base

This advice for the Special Adviser on Compensation for the Vlissingen Marine Base is concerned with the track ‘Zeeland industry and ports’. The other two tracks are accessibility and training/knowhow. The aim of the project was to elaborate a coherent overall vision, detailed for four specific issues:

  1. 380 kV in Flemish Zeeland
  2. hydrogen hub
  3. scope for dispatch of captured CO2
  4. strong Zeeland ports.

For Zeeland to retain a strong economy there needs to be a timely switch to climate-neutral energy options (electricity, hydrogen and/or natural gas + CCS), implemented in such a way as to maintain competitiveness with industry elsewhere.

The electricity infrastructure will have to be expanded, particularly in Flemish Zeeland (on Walcheren and South Beveland this is already the case). The natural gas infrastructure will have to be incrementally converted to public hydrogen infrastructure. In the short term, means must be found to dispatch the CO2 emitted in pure form at both the Yara plant and the Zeeland to a storage site under the North Sea. Besides energy infrastructure, it is also important that port facilities remain competitive with developments elsewhere.

This strengthening of the energy infrastructure and port facilities has already been explored in a number of studies and requires short-term action from various players.

Authors

Co-authors

With support from Sanne Akerboom (Utrecht University), Alexander Oei (Ecorys) & Marten van den Bossche (Ecorys)