UK energy company Centrica and French green hydrogen developer Lhyfe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a pilot offshore green hydrogen plant in the southern North Sea.

The two firms will also explore potential development of future projects at commercial scale alongside offshore wind electricity production.

“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Centrica, which represents an exciting opportunity to drive forward the clean energy transition through large-scale offshore green hydrogen production,” says Colin Brown, UK and Ireland country manager at Lhyfe.

“Offshore electrolysis, coupled with hydrogen storage, will maximise the huge potential of offshore wind around the UK,” he adds. “The UK can become a global leader in the production of renewable green hydrogen, moving away from our reliance on fossil fuels and improving our homegrown energy security, while delivering net zero and boosting local economies.”

“Offshore electrolysis coupled with hydrogen storage will maximise the huge potential of offshore wind around the UK” Brown, Lhyfe

A recent study by risk management group DNV indicates producing of hydrogen offshore in the North Sea and piping it back to land could be cheaper than transmitting electricity from offshore wind to an onshore production hub.

The UK has more than 11GW of offshore wind installed, with a target of 50GW by 2030. Last December, the country signed a MoU with the North Seas Energy Cooperation forum—which includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the European Commission—in order to collaborate on offshore wind and interconnector projects in the North Sea.

A report by the Climate Change Committee, which advises the UK government on climate policy, indicates that green hydrogen production from excess electricity is likely to be limited after more cost-effective balancing measures such as export via interconnector are taken into account—although this is expected to change as more renewable and nuclear capacity comes online.

Rough timeline for transition

Centrica has ambitions to convert the Rough gas storage facility, a depleted gas field off England’s northeast coast, into a major hydrogen store. Rough was re-opened last October after years of closure following the spike in gas prices and concerns around energy security at the beginning of 2022, with ambitions to store both natural gas and hydrogen in the long term. However, Centrica has not disclosed a timeline for when it will begin to store hydrogen at the facility.

“Hydrogen is going to play a key role in decarbonising the UK’s power supply by 2035, and our long-term ambition is for Rough, our gas storage site, to be the world’s largest hydrogen store, offering up to 16TWh of storage capacity,” says Martin Scargill, managing director of Centrica’s storage subsidiary.

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Author: Polly Martin