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Danish energy firm Orsted is pushing ahead with plans to develop a demonstration project which will harness offshore wind energy to produce “green” hydrogen.
In an announcement Wednesday, the company said it had taken a final investment decision on the 2 megawatt (MW) H2RES scheme, which will be able to produce up to roughly 1,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day.
Slated to generate its first hydrogen toward the end of this year, the project will be based at Orsted’s Avedøre Power Station, south of Copenhagen.
Orsted said H2RES would assess “how to best combine an electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind.” The power will come from two 3.6 MW turbines, with the hydrogen produced by the system providing fuel for road-based transport.
Hydrogen can be produced in a number of ways. One way includes using electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in the process comes from a renewable source such as wind then it’s termed “green” or “renewable” hydrogen.
In a statement Anders Nordstrøm, who heads up Orsted’s hydrogen activities, described H2RES as a “small but important step towards large-scale renewable hydrogen production.”
Back in 2019, Orsted and its partners received funding for the scheme from the Danish energy agency’s Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program. The funding amounted to 34.6 million Danish krone (approximately $5.63 million).
Orsted is one of many major firms looking to investigate the potential of green hydrogen production.
Earlier this week, a subsidiary of German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp was awarded an engineering contract to carry out the installation of an 88 MW water electrolysis plant for Hydro-Québec. The electricity for this project will come from hydropower.
And back in November, it was announced that BP would work with Orsted on the development of a large-scale renewable hydrogen project at a refinery in north-west Germany.
At the time, BP said it had signed a letter of intent with Orsted to collaborate on the initiative. According to the oil and gas giant, the scheme will involve the development of an initial 50 megawatt electrolyzer as well as “associated infrastructure” at its Lingen Refinery. The electrolyzer, BP said, was expected to generate nearly 9,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year.
Other firms to have gotten involved in projects connected to green hydrogen production over the last few years include Repsol and Siemens Energy.