Christian Lorenz
Press Officer
Telephone 0221 / 390 11 90
E-mail lorenzc(at)hgk.de
Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG
Press Office
Am Niehler Hafen 2
50735 Cologne
HGK Group and Port of Rotterdam focus on climate-friendly transport corridors
▪ Memorandum of Understanding signed ▪ Focus on the Rhine as a cross-border logistics axis for the decarbonisation of industry ▪ Joint promotion of hydrogen, CCUS and renewable energy sources
Cologne / Rotterdam. Two leading logistics players in the waterway system, the Port of Rotterdam and the HGK Group, are planning a strategic collaboration in the development of climate-friendly supply chains. The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this end on 24 November 2025. The partners see themselves as having a special responsibility to develop the Rhine corridor as a sustainable transport route for the decarbonisation of industry.
With its strong position in European inland shipping, its stake in the rail freight operator RheinCargo and a dense network of Rhine ports, the HGK Group is one of the most important transport and logistics partners for energy and raw material-intensive industries.
On the occasion of the signing, Steffen Bauer, CEO of the HGK Group, said: "With our cooperation, we want to establish a resilient supply chain concept for the scaling of hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) - from efficient multimodal transport solutions to central handling and supply structures. Strengthening the Rhine corridor plays a key role here, especially for the strong chemical cluster in the Cologne region."
The port of Rotterdam is already one of the most important import hubs for Europe's energy supply and is consistently driving forward its transformation into a sustainable energy hub as part of the energy transition.
At the signing of the agreement, Matthijs von Doorn, Vice President Commercial, said: "The collaboration with the HGK Group strengthens our ambition to position Rotterdam not only as Europe's energy hub, but also as the driving force behind the decarbonisation of industry and logistics supply chains. Only by jointly investing in infrastructure for green fuels and CO₂ storage can we create a future-proof Rhine corridor that is essential for the energy transition in Europe."
The agreement creates a joint cooperation platform that meets at least quarterly to coordinate projects and launch new initiatives. In particular, the focus is on expanding the infrastructure for the transport of green ammonia, methanol, liquid hydrogen and other renewable energy sources as well as supporting cross-border CCUS activities - especially in industry-strong North Rhine-Westphalia.
The partnership complements existing initiatives along the Rhine corridor and sends a strong signal for the sustainable transformation of the European industrial and logistics landscape.