Speech by Robert Tieman, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Rh2ine annual conference – Utrecht

Speech | 03-12-2025

Dear colleagues, neighbors, skippers, friends of the Rhine,

With 1,233 kilometres, the Rhine is one of the longest rivers in Europe. The Rhine connects a large part of the European interior with the rest of the world via the port of Rotterdam.

Formally the largest port in the World and now World’s tenth largest port in terms of container throughput. When taking other commodities in the equation Rotterdam would take in position five! 

And the good old Rhine is still going strong. With an impressive history.

The Romans explored the limits of their capabilities via the Rhine; from Mannheim, enormous timber rafts found their way to the delta where we are now; Basel became rich through the silk trade; and Cologne brought wine and herring into the European economy. The Rhine: more than 1,200 kilometres of flowing history and prosperity.

The Rhine corridor is one of the most important freight corridors in Europe. And if we want the Rhine to retain that status, we will have to keep the river and what sails on it up to date.

As neighbouring countries, we are partners in this, together with our governments, but also with private partners in the transport chain and infrastructure.

International trade is the backbone of good international relations. And rivers are the arteries of transport corridors. 

Six countries, one waterway. A major connector, quite literally. But that is not only thanks to the Rhine itself. It is also the result of a strong international network. Of our shared awareness that we can achieve the most by working together.

And that also applies to us: hydrogen friends.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will get straight to the point.

Because today we are talking about hydrogen. The first element in the periodic table of chemical elements. Abundantly available, but a substance that comes with instructions. And we haven't quite figured those out yet.

But we are on our way. Because we have a lot of ambition. There is a lot at stake and there is not much time.

The Rhine and the inland shipping sector are of great importance for freight transport and accessibility in Western Europe. Transport by water is relatively sustainable. Not yet clean and emission-free, but still the best alternative. And there are still many opportunities.

If we want the Rhine to remain the important aorta of the European economy, as it has been for many centuries, we will have to radically change the propulsion of our inland shipping. We will have to eliminate CO2 emissions.

We are doing this together along our Rhine corridor. Our RH2INE initiative is – just like the Rhine itself – a connector of knowledge, ideas, infrastructure and ambition. By promoting hydrogen-powered shipping and taking concrete steps to advance it through pilot projects. A joint venture – sometimes a quest – towards a healthy future. With a strong economy and clean air.

Of course, we are not doing this alone. Our programme fits into a larger European vision in which we are switching to renewable energy. That model is the only one that is truly sustainable.

That is why the countries along the Rhine – the CCR countries – have committed themselves to virtually emission-free inland shipping by 2050. 

And it is possible! Hydrogen-powered shipping is already happening on a limited scale. In the Netherlands, there are four ships that can run on a fuel cell hydrogen installation, in combination with so-called swappable tankcontainers. Of those four ships, two run currently on green hydrogen.

But we have to be realistic: hydrogen as an energy carrier is in general a long-term project.
Import and production, infrastructure and the market still need to be scaled up. 

Sailing on hydrogen is much more expensive than sailing on fossil fuels. This discourages ship owners from investing. The norm setting and pricing measures – RED-III and ETS2 – in combination with subsidies could step-by-step reduce this gap in the coming years.

With the national transposition of the RED III, the reduction of GHG emissions from fuels supplied to inland vessels will be regulated from 2026 onwards.. The Dutch IWT sector will have to achieve a 14.5% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 through the supply and the use of renewable fuels in the chain.

From 2028, CO2 emissions will be priced through the ETS2 emissions trading system. In the Netherlands, this also applies to inland shipping. On 5 November, the EU Environment Council agreed that this new regime will come into effect from 2028. 
We are – and will be - in close contact with our neighboring countries to coordinate the climate measures as much as possible. The Dutch Ministry of Climate and Green Growth is among others working with Germany to develop initiatives to scale up the production and import of green hydrogen in the coming years. 

In the meantime it’s important that ships are made ready for the future. Let me briefly elaborate the Dutch efforts: 
The Climate Fund has made available more than 200 million euro between 2026-2030 for the energy transition in the Inland Waterway Transport. The major part will be invested in a subsidy scheme to support shipowners. They can apply for subsidy for either electric drivetrains on batteries or hydrogen fuel cells or a combustion engine on hydrogen. Later to be decided: methanol combustion engines.

Besides that, a subsidy scheme will be opened for manufacturers of combustion engines on hydrogen and methanol to stimulate the development and thereby availability of these engines. As we speak this subsidy regulation is in internet consultation. 

Hydrogen works either in combination with a fuel cell or in combustion engines, which are still being developed. Sailing on hydrogen is one of the technical possibilities for the energy transition. Zero-emission shipping is also possible over shorter distances with fixed or swappable batteries. And this is already happening. 

It is good that the preconditions for sailing on hydrogen are being put into place internationally. In fact, we are building a whole new ecosystem that will keep shipping from Basel to Rotterdam and vice versa “steaming ahead”. 

Dear hydrogen friends,

It is clear to see on the road: electrification is rapidly catching up with the fossil fuel era. It will be no different on the water.
And it is up to us together to shape this new era. Joint effort, joint knowledge development and joint investments. From governments and the inland shipping sector. 

Scaling up hydrogen in inland shipping will be hard work. Technically, innovations are still needed to strengthen the business case. It is new technology, the teething problems still need to be overcome and the innovations cost a lot of money. 

But let's keep our eyes on the prize: 

•    a sustainable and robust transport system and a vibrant European economy, 
•    clean air and a healthy living environment along one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.

That's what we're talking about!

Thank you.