Equinor, Gasunie, RWE and Shell are strengthening their collaboration within AquaSector. This project is to become Germany's first large-scale hydrogen park at sea. AquaSector is to demonstrate that hydrogen production at sea can be an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable production method for green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated using energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power. The aim of the AquaSector project is to install electrolysers with a total capacity of 300 megawatts. An electrolyser is a device that produces hydrogen using electrolysis. This is a process that uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
20,000 tonnes per year
The offshore hydrogen plant is to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The hydrogen will be transported to Helgoland in Germany via a pipeline called AquaDuctus. The transport is due to start in 2028.
Equinor, Gasunie, RWE and Shell see AquaSector primarily as a proof of concept project for the vision of AquaVentus. This vision reads the production of up to 10 gigawatts of green hydrogen at an offshore site by 2035 and its transportation via pipeline to the German mainland.
Among other things, the parties involved point to the efficiency with which hydrogen can be transported. Here, they draw a comparison with electricity production at sea. A hydrogen pipeline can be an alternative to five high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power cables, which would otherwise have had to be built. The parties refer to it as "by far the most cost-effective method for transporting large volumes of energy over long distances".
The project should respond to the rapidly rising demand for green hydrogen. The parties intend to carry out a detailed feasibility study. AquaSector forms a first step in this. Among other things, the project should identify conditions for a large-scale offshore hydrogen park. As well as technical and commercial challenges involved.
Hydrogen plant in North Sea Port
AquaSector is by no means the only project for the production of green hydrogen. In May, for example, VoltH2 Terneuzen and Virya Energy announced plans for a green hydrogen plant in the North Sea Port area of Vlissingen. The parties intend to locate this facility in the North Sea Port area in Vlissingen. The plant will feature a 25 MW electrolysis unit. This will produce up to 3.6 million kg of green hydrogen annually. In the long term, the capacity can be scaled up to 100 MW, with a potential annual production of 14.4 million kg of green hydrogen.
Another special feature of the plant is the arrival of storage, refuelling and distribution capabilities. Hydrogen can be stored on site. This helps to absorb fluctuations in renewable energy production. The plant uses excess wind energy to produce hydrogen. This is stored locally. Does demand exceed production at a later stage? Then the hydrogen can be used to supply additional energy.
In the long term, trucks, buses and ships should be able to refuel hydrogen directly at the plant. The parties also want to distribute hydrogen via both rail and waterways to filling stations in the area and the gas network.
Battolyser Systems
The TU Delft spin-off Battolyser Systems is also focusing on hydrogen production. The company aims to bring its system for electricity storage and the production of green hydrogen to market commercially and scale up to mass production.
It involves so-called 'Battolysers'. This product stores electricity on the one hand. On the other hand, it produces green hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The Battolyser uses electrolysis. With its technology, Battolyser Systems aims to better align the supply of renewable energy with demand. And help meet shortfalls in renewable energy production. The modus operandi here is similar to that of the hydrogen plant at North Sea Port.
The Battolyser was first presented in late 2016. A pilot was realised in 2019 at Vattenfall's Magnum power plant in Eemshaven. Now funding has been raised for a larger-scale commercial demonstration facility.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
