Greener Hydrogen
The green stuff from offshore wind power
Due to the high full load hours, offshore wind is ideally suited for hydrogen production.
With green hydrogen there are great hopes for a CO2-free industry and economy. In areas of the energy and manufacturing industries, such as steel or chemicals, that cannot be directly electrified, hydrogen is intended to replace fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal in the long term. - Decarbonization is the magic word here. However, this also means CO2 is taken out of the system and the project is in line with the goal of climate neutrality, it is crucial how the energetic hope is to be generated.
According to the federal government's plan, up to five gigawatts of output from onshore and offshore wind are to be used to generate green hydrogen by 2030. That's how she sees it national hydrogen strategy adopted in summer 2020 in front. She does not rule out the use of so-called blue hydrogen. The hydrogen strategy adopted shortly afterwards by the EU Commission even relies in the medium term on upgrade the existing hydrogen production from natural gas and to inject the split off carbon dioxide into underground storage (the so-called “carbon capture and storage” method, or CCS for short). CCS is not allowed in Germany due to a lack of public acceptance.
The wind energy at sea offers the best Scope to generate the hydrogen "green", says BWO managing director, Stefan Thimm. We get aheadfaste together.
Source: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), 2020
Sustainable hydrogen economy: the wind blows from the sea
Offshore wind energy has zin addition to the high ones Full load hours also a comparatively steady ones Feed profile, which is favorable for the electrolyser design and utilization. By converting the excess Energy in greenn Hydrogen and heat it is possible occurring Fluctuations im Electricitynetwork balance. Besides that green hydrogen offers a great opportunity Means If it is driven in a climate-friendly way, it can be used, for example, as fuel in air and heavy goods traffic.
The construction sites for offshore hydrogen production
At the moment, the question of costs still plays a major role. In order to achieve the fastest possible decarbonization, equal opportunities must be created. This means that green hydrogen must be made cheaper (with the exception of the EEG surcharge) and fossil hydrogen must be made more expensive (via a Co2 price). As long as the market environment does not allow profitability, financial support should also be considered. In addition, there is the expansion of nationwide hydrogen pipeline infrastructure, which is urgently needed. In addition to the costs of green hydrogen generation, the retrofitting costs in the application areas must also be taken into account. In addition, green hydrogen must not “cannibalize” renewable electricity generation. It means that zusätzlich on the national expansion path - 20 GW offshore wind energy by 2030 - also Hydrogen generation performance must be planned and the EEG expansion corridors and tender volumes must be adjusted.
Germ cells on the high seas: pilot projects
Hydrogen production from offshore wind power still only exists on paper. In order for the step out into the sea to succeed, test projects on a large scale are required. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research alone is providing 700 million euros. Be funded three lead projects, which investigate crucial steps along the value chain, from the production of electrolysers on an industrial scale, through the generation of hydrogen on the high seas, to the mass transport of energetic gas (via old gas pipelines or in high-pressure containers). The federal government sees the Corona stimulus package for the Establishment of production facilities and stimulation of the hydrogen demand an impressive seven billion euros. With “Wums”, politicians are also relying on the rapid development of a hydrogen economy. Therefore, large companies are testing the offshore production of hydrogen in their own projects.
Current projects at a glance:
The aim of AquaVentus is to generate 10 gigawatts of green hydrogen from offshore wind energy and transport it on land by 2035.
OYSTER plans to build an electrolyzer that can be integrated into an offshore wind turbine. This project is scheduled to start this year and is funded by the EU.
PosHydon is planning the world's first offshore platform with an electrolyzer.
The engineering company Tractebel with its daughter Overdick is planning to install an electrolyser and a desalination plant on an offshore platform that will convert electricity from nearby wind farms into hydrogen.
Orsted and BP are planning an onshore electrolyser in Emsland with electricity from the Orsted wind farms. The project is a real laboratory funded by the BMWI.
The “WestCOAST100” project around Orsted in Schleswig-Holstein focuses on hydrogen production.
Denmark is planning an artificial energy island for Power2x.
The BMBF's H2Giga project as part of the “Hydrogen Republic of Germany” funding initiative for the serial production of electrolysers. It contains a pilot system of an electrolyser integrated in an offshore wind turbine. TransHyDE: Develops hydrogen transport technologies for the conversion of the existing gas network and new gas lines, high-pressure containers, liquid transport and the transport of hydrogen bound in ammonia.
