Successful Start of Onshore Test PosHYdon; a World First in the North Sea
For the first time, integration of offshore wind, gas and green hydrogen is taking place on an operational gas platform in the North Sea. The Q13a-A platform of Neptune Energy (Eni) will, after successful onshore tests in Alkmaar, be equipped with an electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen on an existing platform, thanks to the PosHYdon consortium.
First production offshore is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024. Never before has an operational oil or gas platform been used for the integration and production of green hydrogen. The green hydrogen molecules produced will be transported to land along with natural gas via existing pipelines.
This week the kick-off, after years of studies and development, of PosHYdon's onshore tests took place at the site of InVesta in Alkmaar, one of the affiliated partners within PosHYdon. An important milestone; the electrolyzer will then be transported to the platform, tested and installed. This will enable us to land green hydrogen molecules with gray gas molecules through existing infrastructure. A unique achievement!
René Peters, Business Director Gas Technologies TNO and initiator of the North Sea Energy Program said: “PosHYdon is a perfect example of system integration in the North Sea. In many studies, hydrogen is considered the missing link in the energy transition, with many talking about all the opportunities. But here, right off the coast of Scheveningen, it will actually take place later this year. PosHYdon is teaching us a lot about the next steps that need to be taken towards safe, large-scale green hydrogen production from wind at sea. Offshore green hydrogen production will enable large-scale wind farms to be developed far out at sea. Wind energy is directly converted to green hydrogen from demineralized seawater and can be transported through the existing or new gas infrastructure.
As a result, offshore wind projects can be realized faster at significantly lower costs for society. I am therefore very happy that we can now test the complete installation onshore, in preparation for transferring it offshore for the final test: offshore green hydrogen production.”
About PosHYdon
In the PosHYdon project, a significant number of lessons are being learned about the offshore production of green hydrogen. This makes the project essential for a smooth roll-out towards large-scale production, as envisaged with the Esbjerg ambitions for 2050.
PosHYdon seeks to validate the integration of three energy systems in the Dutch North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas and offshore hydrogen and will involve the installation of hydrogen-producing plant on the Neptune Energy (Eni)-operated Q13a-A platform. This platform was the first fully green electrified platform in the Dutch North Sea.
The green hydrogen will be blended with the gas and transported to the coast via the existing gas pipeline. To this end, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has increased the blending specifications from 0.02% to 0.5% hydrogen. The 1 MW electrolyser will follow the wind profile of the Luchterduinen wind farm.
Source: FCW