Lessons learned from European Offshore Wind to Hydrogen Project

Presentation Description: As early as 2020 Europe commenced concept and feasibility studies on offshore wind to hydrogen projects and many of these projects will now move into FEED or detailed design. The key drivers for these projects include both decarbonization of key industries and supporting European energy security. Two examples of these project are the NortH2 and North Sea Wind Power Hub (NSWPH).

On NorthH2 we are the technical integration and optimization contractor for the largest hydrogen project in Europe, which aims to produce a million tons of green hydrogen a year by 2040, translating into an annual reduction of up to 10 million tons of CO2. The scheme envisions new offshore wind farms in the North Sea – comprising more than 4GW of generating capacity by 2030 and 10GW by 2040, powering an electrolyzing plant in the Netherlands to mass produce hydrogen for distribution via existing natural gas infrastructure.

On the NSWPH programme we are providing conceptual and design services will develop the electrical and hydrogen infrastructure needed to connect the new offshore wind farms planned for the North Sea to the European onshore energy infrastructure. A total of 180GW offshore wind is expected before 2050 in the North Sea. The hydrogen is predominantly required for long-term storage of this significant capacity of wind power.

Multiple lessons have been learnt across a wide range of areas, including but not limited to project development at scale; front end loading, supply chain evaluation; technology selection, integration, and optimization; technical innovation; futureproofing; energy evacuation; safety and new concepts such as energy islands. This will explore some of the many lessons learned from this experience can be applied to the US Market.