H2Deri@BSP

The shift towards green marine fuels is gathering pace, but for Baltic Sea ports the transition raises a fundamental question: how can ports be ready when the market, fuels and technologies are still evolving? Hydrogen derivatives such as methanol and ammonia offer important options for reducing emissions from shipping. Yet their uptake depends on more than the availability of fuel. The H2Deri@BSP market analysis shows that future demand and supply are still developing, while investment needs, infrastructure readiness, permitting and the coordination of fuel production, distribution and shipping remain key challenges. Ports therefore need to make decisions today in an environment that is still changing. H2Deri@BSP turns this challenge into practical solutions for ports and their stakeholders.

First, ports need to know where to invest and how to make their infrastructure ready. The project has developed a techno-economic model to assess investments in solar, wind and Power-to-X projects, a fuel-neutral port bunkering mapping checklist to identify which berths can safely handle different fuels, and practical solutions for methanol bunkering, including flexible truck-to-ship bunkering and a non-seagoing bunker vessel for new bunkering locations.

Second, ports need to know how to handle these new fuels safely and within the regulatory framework. Compact handbooks for methanol and ammonia bring together the essential regulatory requirements, while a roadmap for safe bunkering covers the fuels, bunkering procedures, roles, responsibilities and safe operating procedures.

Third, the transition needs to bring people along. The port residential communication strategy helps ports engage and inform residential communities as port areas become part of the changing energy landscape.

These solutions are being tested, discussed and refined with project partners and associated stakeholders, bringing practical experience from different Baltic Sea countries into their further development. In this way, the project is turning shared challenges into approaches that port communities can use in practice. The knowledge and solutions developed through this cooperation will be actively disseminated beyond the partnership, enabling their uptake by stakeholders across the Baltic Sea Region and Europe. The ambition is clear: stronger cooperation, better-prepared ports, safer and more coordinated green-fuel infrastructure that enables a seamless transition towards cleaner maritime transport and energy resilience.