Green Hydrogen To Rescue Stranded Offshore Wind Resources

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When inexperienced hydrogen is in play, the difficulty of stranded belongings takes on a complete new which means. Stranded belongings generally applies to fossil power assets that lose market worth in a decarbonizing economic system. Wind power stakeholders additionally apply the time period to offshore websites the place the wind is perfect, however no grid connection is obtainable. As a substitute of throwing up their palms in defeat, some are turning to inexperienced hydrogen and the fitting mixture of circumstances for an help.

Inexperienced Hydrogen May Rescue Stranded Offshore Wind Assets…

The mix of inexperienced hydrogen and offshore wind has crossed the CleanTechnica radar from time to time. In a single iteration of the thought, extra electrical energy from offshore wind generators is shunted to electrolyzer programs primarily at night time, when wind speeds decide up however electrical energy demand slows down (for extra background on inexperienced hydrogen, see our hydrogen archive).

The electrolysis can happen onshore, if a grid connection is obtainable. If none is obtainable, the electrolyzers may be co-located with offshore wind turbinesboth on their very own platforms or connected to particular person generators. All else being equal, wind farms might be positioned in areas farther from shore, the place wind speeds are optimum, even when no grid connection is possible. The hydrogen produced from offshore electrolyzers can be transported to shore by pipeline or by ship.

…If The Proper Circumstances Come Collectively

On the draw back, the financial case for constructing new wind farms far offshore for the unique function of manufacturing inexperienced hydrogen is a tough one to make.

One issue that might assist enhance the monetary image is the potential for deploying pre-existing infrastructure. And, that’s the place the fitting circumstances are coming collectively. The Scottish group Web Zero Expertise Centre has been learning the potential for repurposing offshore oil and fuel rigs for inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing.

This system, known as HOP2 for Hydrogen Offshore Manufacturing Undertaking, relies on a feasibility research from 2018. Each new and present infrastructure prices are included within the calculations.

“Wind Europe have identified that a considerable portion of the low-cost offshore wind resource in Europe is located within the North Sea, much of which is at a significant distance from shore and from existing electrical infrastructure,” Web Zero explains.

“This configuration presents a significant opportunity for the production and storage of hydrogen at the source of electricity production offshore, leveraging existing infrastructure in the region,” the group provides.

The Inexperienced Hydrogen Items Are Coming Collectively, Slowly

A follow-on research in 2020 “clearly identified that producing hydrogen offshore on repurposed or new installations may be the most cost-effective option for large scale green hydrogen production,” as described by Web Zero.

Within the newest information, on June 19, the engineering and consultancy agency Apollo introduced completion of one other HOP2 research, by which it provided “viable options for a new offshore asset or the reuse of existing offshore asset substructures.”

Apollo famous that repurposing an present substructure is a difficult process, however the agency additionally advocated for additional investigation, stating that “the potential for significant cost savings justifies additional effort to more precisely determine the footprint requirements for such assets.”

Amongst different hydrogen projectsApollo has collaborated on a feasibility research involving each onshore and offshore wind for an electrolyzer facility on the Sullom Voe Terminal on Shetland.

The Inexperienced Hydrogen Race Is On

The clock is ticking on Web Zero’s inexperienced hydrogen plans, each onshore and off. The group has already dedicated to a 10-gigawatt export pipeline to the EU, primarily based partly on a dedication that inexperienced hydrogen from Scotland may present at the very least 22% of Germany’s hydrogen by quantity throughout the subsequent 21 years, and doubtlessly as much as 100%.

In the meantime, inexperienced hydrogen stakeholders in different nations have been busy. In a single notably fascinating growth, on June 11, the worldwide funding supervisor Copenhagen Infrastructure Companions and the main offshore wind developer Vattenfall launched Zeevonk, a brand new three way partnership aimed toward bringing the deliberate 2-gigawatt IJmuiden Ver Beta offshore wind farm to life off the west coast of the Netherlands.

An electrolyzer system can also be a part of the challenge, however the actually fascinating half is a floating offshore photo voltaic array with a peak energy output of fifty megawatts. Floating solar is a comparatively new discipline that’s quickly gaining traction on reservoirs and different human-built infrastructure. Sending photo voltaic panels out to sea presents next-level challenges, and will probably be fascinating to see how Zeevonk plans to deal with them.

What About Hydrogen Gasoline Cell Autos?

After all, no dialog about hydrogen is full with no point out of hydrogen gas cell electrical automobiles.  Although gradual to catch on within the US, gas cell EVs are nudging their means into the market in Europe and elsewhere.

One latest growth is a brand new collaboration between Renault Group’s HYVIA department (a three way partnership with the US agency Plug) and the French hydrogen taxi specialist HYPE. Introduced on June 12, the partnership is aimed toward  coordinating inexperienced hydrogen provide with fueling stations, and coordinating fueling station availability with gas cell EVs.

Different automakers with a stake within the gas cell EV discipline have been focusing available on the market for bigger automobiles with higher energy wants. Quantron is one such instance. On June 12, the German agency Quantron, which has a department within the US, introduced the introduction of recent gas cell light- and heavy-duty vans, with the goal of in search of “cost parity for zero emission commercial vehicles.”

That’s going to be a tricky nut to crack, contemplating the excessive price of each gas cells and inexperienced hydrogen, although Quantron has acknowledged that it’ll deploy a community of companions to realize the price parity aim.

In the meantime, Again In The Lab…

For these of you new to the subject, inexperienced hydrogen refers primarily to hydrogen pushed from water in an electrolyzer system, with electrical energy provided by renewable assets. That’s a pointy distinction with the standard approach to produce hydrogen, which includes extracting it from pure fuel or coal.

Other than its use as a gas, hydrogen has a number of industrial and meals system functions, so cleansing up the hydrogen provide chain is a key component within the world decarbonization motion.

The high cost of electrolyzer systems has been slowing issues down, however researchers have been hammering away on new cost-cutting methods. One space of focus has been to switch the costly platinum generally utilized in electrolyzer catalysts with ruthiumas lately described by researchers in Italy.

Transporting and storing hydrogen fuel can also be coming beneath the cost-cutting microscope. A analysis workforce at Stanford College is amongst these tackling that angle by the rising discipline of liquid organic hydrogen carrierswhich includes deploying hydrogen within the type of “liquid batteries,” leveraging its operate as an power service and storage medium.

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Photograph: Present offshore oil and fuel rigs might be repurposed as inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing amenities, utilizing electricity from offshore wind farms (courtesy of Apollo).