Offshore stakeholders throughout Europe are discovering the potential of hydrogen A portrait of current projects

The Westküste 100 living lab in Schleswig-Holstein

The Westküste 100 living lab centres around research and development for the use of offshore wind energy in the production of hydrogen, as well as on the exploitation of waste heat. Among other things, the green hydrogen will be used to produce climate-friendly aircraft fuels. Regional cement manufacturers in Schleswig-Holstein use excess CO2 for fuel production. The cross-sectoral partnership consists of EDF Deutschland, Holcim Deutschland, Open Grid Europe, Ørsted, the Heide Refinery, Stadtwerke Heide and Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions – together with the Heide Region Development and FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences. The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy is expected to decide on awarding the contract in 2020.

Test field in the Baltic Sea off Germany

A test field for offshore wind farms without grid connection, so power-to-gas at sea, will be built off the Baltic Sea coast in Warnemünde in order to test pilot systems without incurring exorbitant costs. The test field will be built on an area of 13 square kilometres, as set out in the State Development Plan. Creation of these designated areas of special use was made possible by an amendment of the Wind Energy at Sea Act [WindSeeG] in 2018. Dena’s Managing Director Andreas Kuhlmann repeatedly emphasised the potential for producing green fuels in Germany.

Danish energy island in the North Sea

The Danish government has ambitious plans, first and foremost the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Dan Jørgensen, using the Madrid Climate Conference COP 25 in November 2019 to announce that an energy island in the North Sea would be up and running before 2030. The project will involve using sand to build an artificial island that will accommodate turbines to convert wind energy into hydrogen and green fuels. The government is particularly concerned to promote the development of power-to-X systems with an anticipated investment volume of €27 to 40 billion.

Offshore cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom

Cooperating with Germany, the United Kingdom has also recognised the vast potential for using hydrogen from offshore wind turbines. Speaking at an event of the Association of German Offshore Wind Farm Operators (BWO) in November 2019, Sir Sebastian Wood, British Ambassador in Germany, pointed out that the two countries accounted for over 85 per cent of the installed capacity in Europe and should collaborate more closely in the field of hydrogen production. Catrin Jung, Head of the Board at BWO, advocated a “hydrogen master plan”.