The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, praised this Tuesday the role of the Port of Sines, in the district of Setúbal, for the national economy, considering it fundamental to lead the energy challenges facing Europe.
“Sines is the largest port in transfer [transbordo] national and, little by little, it will become the largest port in the country. interland international, so today the role that Sines plays in the national economy is very significant,” stated the government official on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a green corridor between the ports of Sines, Rotterdam ( Netherlands) and Duisport (Germany) and the Madoqua company.
According to the Minister of Infrastructure, this is a “historic” agreement for the creation of the “first green corridor.” which will allow the transport of alternative fuels and raw materials based on hydrogen derivatives, such as e-ammonia and e-methanol, and products such as liquefied CO2, from Portugal to northwest Europe.
“It is essential that Sines leads this enormous challenge facing Europe. It is not enough to lead with words, you must also lead with actions and that is why Sines and Portugal had art and ingenuity, together with the private sector and universities, [de] to be able to capture the majority of European incentives for this area of green hydrogen for Portugal,” he said.
However, he stressed, it is necessary to “guarantee that the intellectual property, talent, knowledge and economy that helps the country grow more sustainably remain in Portugal.”
The ceremony, which took place in the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone (ZILS), was attended by Mona Neubaur, Minister of Economy, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy and Deputy Prime Minister of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Marloes Ras from the Madoqua company, José Luís Cacho, from the Administration of the ports of Sines and Algarve, Wouter Demenint, from the port of Rotterdam, and Markus Bangen, from Duisport.
Before journalists, Miguel Pinto Luz, highlighted that This green corridor “will connect Sines with ports as large as the port of Rotterdam and Duisport” and assured that the Government is committed to “concluding a partnership with Brazil” to create “a corridor with the South Atlantic” and working “with the Canadian ambassador” for “the North Atlantic.”
“Sines, from this point of view, has an absolutely unique geostrategic location and we firmly believe in the potential of Sines, in the growth that Sines can have,” especially because “the Government continues to make investments, especially in the railway and in the southern international corridor that will serve Sines,” he reinforced.
Asked about other investments announced in hydrogen production that, meanwhile, were being cancelled, the minister assured that “this stops, starts, stops definitively” and that the Government is committed “to this path towards green hydrogen, but also to the path to a great project that mobilizes all of Europe.”
“I have no fear, I have absolute confidence in the bets we are making and today we have proof of it,” he concluded.
The Portuguese-Dutch company Madoqua is developing a green hydrogen and ammonia production project in Sines, which represents an investment of 1.3 billion (phase 1) and 1.5 billion (phase 2).
In 2022, Madoqua announced a partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Power2X to build a 1.2 GW (Gigawatt) industrial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia project, MadoquaPower2X in Sines, Portugal, which will create more than 150 direct jobs and 2000 indirect. jobs.
Source: Observadora
