Plans include the replacement of fossil fuel cargo with biomass. The site already has terminals that handle biomass, and is considering a biomass power plant. The Port of Amsterdam also recently opened the Prodock incubator, which provides energy, biomaterials, and circular economy startups with pilot plant space.
Jan Egbertsen, Port of Amsterdam’s project manager for innovation logistics business development, tells Renewable Energy World that the role ports are playing in the economy is changing. Once primarily functioning as a landlord, modern ports can be matchmakers that bring together companies active in biobased products.
“The world around us is changing,” Egbertsen says. “We can’t wait until companies in the port area change. Sometimes you have to take the lead.”
The Port of Amsterdam is the fourth busiest in Europe, accounting for €6 billion in annual sales across 2,000 companies and employing 55,000 people. Tenants already include biodiesel producer Orgaworld and bioplastic companies Plantics and Avantium.