In the transition towards climate neutrality by 2050 green hydrogen can contribute as a clean and widely applicable energy vector. However, domestic production by electrolysis in the Netherlands will not be able to produce enough hydrogen for the estimated demand. Import of hydro
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In the transition towards climate neutrality by 2050 green hydrogen can contribute as a clean and widely applicable energy vector. However, domestic production by electrolysis in the Netherlands will not be able to produce enough hydrogen for the estimated demand. Import of hydrogen will thus be crucial. The Port of Rotterdam (PoR) will play a vital role herein as the port has set the goal to become the hydrogen hub of North-Western Europe. To transport hydrogen, solutions are being evaluated since the molecule has a very low volumetric energy density at ambient conditions. Among others, liquid ammonia (LNH3) is under investigation as an import method since it has favourable storage conditions, a flexible end-use, and a high volumetric energy density. After landing in the PoR, ammonia can be decomposed by catalytic cracking. This technology is, however, still under development for this application and economic data on its performance are lacking. Furthermore, this import method must compete against domestic production and is subject to deep uncertainty since characteristics of the novel hydrogen economy are unknown. This study evaluates the impact of uncertainties on the techno-economic performance of various ammonia-based energy hub designs in the PoR in many scenarios. An ammonia-based hub is an import terminal with a catalytic cracker, direct ammonia sale, and a hydrogen fuel cell. The evaluation is performed by answering the following research question: How do uncertainties and competition impact the techno-economic performance of various ammonia-based energy hub designs in the PoR? The core part of this research is performed by computationally modelling the ammonia-based energy hub in the multi-actor field, and simulating its behaviour for numerous possible futures in the period between 2030 and 2040. The first phase of the research is used to find quantitative performance indicators to evaluate the techno-economic performance of an ammonia-based energy hub. Subsequently, an extensive literature research executed to (1) map global and local market actors, (2) research available ammonia decomposition technologies, and (3) find exogenous factors that can be varied numerically in a scenario analysis. Simultaneously, conceptual models are made of energyhub design options and of the multi-actor field in which the hub is situated. In a third research phase, the multi-actor field and the energy-hub are modelled in Linny-R. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming problem herein; the net cash flow of all actors is the optimization variable in this paradigm. To generate datasets that serve as input for the simulations in Linny-R, a python model has been written. Lastly, generated results from Linny-R are analysed to get insights and formulate recommendations for the PoR and further research.