Swedish utility Vattenfall will build a hydrogen electrolysis cluster next to the Hollandse Kust West windfarm in the Netherlands if it wins the tender to build the project.

Three wind turbines will be equipped with electrolysers, with the hydrogen to be transported via a pipeline to the Port of Rotterdam and fed into the network there. Electrolysers with a total of 45MW of capacity will sit in containers mounted on platforms next to the turbines.

“Hydrogen production at the source offers clear advantages, not only in financial terms, but because it is practical,” says Catrin Jung, head of offshore wind at Vattenfall.

Earlier this year, Vattenfall received £9.3mn ($11.1mn) from the UK government to develop an 8.8MW combined wind turbine and green hydrogen production facility off the coast of Aberdeen.

“Hydrogen production at the source offers clear advantages, not only in financial terms, but because it is practical” Jung, Vattenfall

Technology firm ERM Dolphyn received £8.6mn for a similar project as part of the same funding round.

“The experience we gain in Scotland through offshore production can be applied on a larger scale at Hollandse Kust West,” says Jung.

The lots are expected to be awarded later this year. BP and Shell are also tendering for lots, with Shell planning to use the power for a 200MW electrolyser at the Port of Rotterdam.

New solutions

The Netherlands has doubled its offshore wind target from 11.5GW to 22.2 GW of operating offshore wind capacity by 2030.

A report commissioned by the government’s Netherlands Enterprise Agency found that large-scale offshore electrolysis can play a role in integrating offshore wind into the nation’s energy system after 2030.

“Centralised electrolysis on a large-scale energy island and integrated electrolysis in wind turbines can both become relevant,” it says, noting that such developments would ease the pressure of integrating more offshore wind capacity onto the grid.

German utility RWE and UK-based independent oil and gas producer Neptune Energy have also agreed to jointly develop a pilot project to demonstrate offshore green hydrogen production in the Dutch North Sea.

The pilot plant will convert seawater into demineralised water and then into green hydrogen via a 1MW electrolyser powered by offshore wind. The hydrogen output, expected to be up to 400kg/d, will be blended with natural gas and transported to shore via an existing pipeline.

Growing industry

Last month, French green hydrogen producer Lhyfe—which specialises in deploying electrolysers coupled directly with offshore wind—raised €110mn ($118mn) in an initial public offering.

It has a portfolio of 93 identified projects in Europe that, by 2028, will potentially deliver production capacity of 4.8GW, capable of producing more than 1,620t/d of green hydrogen.

Of these 93 projects, 20 are at an advanced development stage and are expected to see the startup of 380.5MW between 2023 and 2026, Lhyfe says.

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Author: Tom Young