Vopak’s €1bn investments in energy transition projects underway – exec

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Dutch storage and infrastructure firm Vopak is doubling down on its energy transition strategy, re-affirming its commitment to invest €1 billion in low-carbon infrastructure through to 2030, the company’s Asia and Middle East chief told ICIS.

• Many energy transition projects in infancy; expected completion closer to 2030
• India to be big exporter of green ammonia to South Korea, Japan, northwest Europe
• Vopak to continue pursuing joint ventures to develop value chains

Initiatives include green ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, expanding value chains, and repurposing existing infrastructure to support sustainable feedstocks, according to Vopak president of Asia and Middle East Chris Robblee.

ACCELERATING ENERGY TRANSITION
Vopak is focusing on several key areas to support the global shift toward sustainable energy.

Recently, the company completed its first bio-bunker fuel supply operation in Fujairah in the UAE, the fruits of its infrastructure development for biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“For us, new energy is about ensuring we have assets ready for sustainable feedstocks and future products like biofuels and SAF,” Robblee said.

Furthermore, Vopak views ammonia as the most efficient hydrogen transport solution and is actively investing in related projects.

Ammonia is liquid that is a carrier for hydrogen (which is gas), and is easier to store and transport than hydrogen.

“Hydrogen can move in different ways, but ammonia is the most efficient in our view,” said Robblee.

The company is also leveraging its experience in handling hazardous products to expand its carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives, seeing it as a crucial decarbonization pathway.

Recognizing the shift from molecules to electrons, Vopak is entering the battery storage sector to support the changing energy landscape.

INVESTMENT PROGRESS
While Vopak has committed $1 billion to energy transition projects by 2030, only a fraction has been spent so far, as many projects are still in early development stages.

The company has spent a little less than $100 million on projects since it made the pledge in 2022, Vopak CEO Dick Richelle was quoted by newswire agency Reuters in November 2024.

Robblee emphasized the development of energy transition projects will be completed closer to 2030, with the pace of implementation much slower compared with its industrial and gas terminal projects.

Vopak has a capex target of €2 billion for industrial and gas terminals by 2030.

“The thought always was, it’s going to come closer to the 2030 date than our growth spending on industrial and gas terminals. And it’s just because a lot of the projects were in their infancy.

“The big infrastructure projects that we work on take years to develop and then years to get going.”

Ongoing projects include working through Vopak’s Tokyo office to import ammonia for co-firing with coal for power generation.

Japan and South Korea are becoming leading importers of green ammonia as they work to decarbonize newer coal facilities or thermal power plants, Robblee said.

“They have the proven technology that you’re able to co-combust ammonia with … coal,” he added.

“There are a lot of exciting projects in India and the Middle East that we see that flow coming to the East [northeast Asia], as well as the US.”

India is a particular focus for storage and export of green hydrogen and ammonia.

In November 2023, India’s Odisha state approved several green hydrogen and ammonia projects, including an ammonia storage tank project at Gopalpur operated by Aegis Vopak (AVTL), Vopak’s joint venture with India’s Aegis. This facility is designed to store 80,000 tonnes of liquid ammonia.

AVTL, in November 2024, announced it has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) worth Indian rupees (Rs) 35 billion ($405 million) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

A final decision for the IPO is expected in the first half of 2025.

Vopak is also repurposing existing infrastructure in Asia to support sustainable feedstocks.

In 2024, the company repurposed part of its Sebarok terminal in Singapore, commissioning 40,000 tonnes of capacity for blending biofuels into marine fuels.

The Sebarok terminal is earmarked as a sustainable multi-fuels hub, reinforcing Singapore’s status as a leading bunkering center.

VALUE CHAINS STILL IN INFANCY
A major challenge for Vopak in new energy markets is that value chains are still new.

“I think what you’ll see, which is quite normal, is a lot of these value chains aren’t built yet,” he said.

However, Robblee said the company is confident it can safely handle the products of the future.

“We have the capabilities to contribute, to ensure that we give our people our best knowledge to build the assets in a safe and secure manner, in an efficient and [sustainable] manner.”

Vopak also aims to continue working with different partners to develop its energy transition projects.

“We are very accustomed to joint ventures. Across Asia and the Middle East, almost all our business is structured this way.”

For example, Vopak and France’s Air Liquide, in March 2024, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the development and operation of infrastructure for ammonia import, cracking, and hydrogen distribution in Singapore.

“I think the only difference is, and we’re quite open to it. Maybe the partners that we had in the past aren’t the same partners that we [will have] in the future. And so, we’re looking at that today,” Robblee added.

Interview article by Jonathan Yee

($1 = Rs86.34)