New fund seeks to ramp up decarbonization efforts at Port of Amsterdam

September 17, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

The Port of Amsterdam, the second largest port in the Netherlands, has launched a Transition Fund to accelerate the shift from fossil to non-fossil cargo handling operations and help companies further reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

As disclosed, through the Transition Fund, the goal is to support terminals handling fossil cargo and companies facing considerable sustainability challenges, i.e., those businesses producing high CO2 emissions.

The fund, which will reportedly run from 2025 to 2028, will lend a helping hand to initiatives that contribute to making the port area more environmentally friendly, either by expanding non-fossil activities and/or by making production processes more sustainable.

To this end, officials from the Port of Amsterdam have revealed that at least €5 million (approximately $5.9 million) will be allocated each year and distributed in the form of loans (up to €1.5 million per company) and grants (up to €300,000 per company).

As informed, those who will be eligible to apply for the funding must either emit at least 2.5 kilotons of carbon dioxide per year (Scope 1 and 2) or operate a minimum of ten hectares of land to be converted from fossil to non-fossil storage and transhipment. The companies must also be existing customers of the port with at least ten years left on their contracts.

What is more, as noted by the port’s representatives, the projects must deliver a minimum 6% cut in CO2-equivalent emissions or boost non-fossil cargo transhipment by at least 6% or 300 kilotons in order to qualify.

Eligible projects also need to be achievable within five years and support the Port of Amsterdam’s 2025–2028 sustainability vision.

The port had unveiled a new four-year (2025-2028) strategy called “On course toward a future-proof port complex” as well as a “Green Port Amsterdam” 2040 vision earlier this year. Both were said to have been crafted together with a number of other maritime industry stakeholders.

As divulged at the time, the primary target of the 2025-2028 strategy is to phase out fossil-based operations and place renewable energy and low-emission logistics at the center.

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In support of its sustainability vision, the Port of Amsterdam has explored both the utilization of new, greener fuels and ‘advanced’ sustainability-oriented technologies, such as shore power connections. For instance, in May this year, the port teamed up with Canada’s province of Newfoundland and Labrador to investigate green hydrogen supply chains as a means of pushing further toward net zero.

Regarding shore power, the port has made several steps forward within this landscape, such as the recent launching of a system intended for cruise ships, specifically, at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA). The construction of the shore power facility began in May 2023 and was completed in early 2025.