ODE wins FEED work contract for Dolphyn green hydrogen project

Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) has been awarded FEED work on the Dolphyn green hydrogen project off the coast of Aberdeen.

Meanwhile, by summer 2025, ODE’s consortium members Tractabel and Vestas will assist in the building and operation of the 10 MW commercial demonstration unit.

It marks the start of a commercial demonstration phase for Dolphyn, which was created by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) with the goal of creating green hydrogen on a large scale utilizing floating turbines.

Following the demonstration, a multi-gigawatt project may offer “up to 25% of the UK’s future low-carbon hydrogen demand” in the early 2030s, according to the company.

The topside equipment, export pipeline, and facility design are all being done by ODE, a technical service provider.

“Producing clean, low-cost hydrogen at scale is widely recognized as a critical enabler for the energy transition,” said Frank Drennan, ODE’s head of oil, gas, and energy transition. The ERM Dolphyn project, which has the potential to provide carbon-free electricity to nearly 1.5 million homes, will be essential in achieving these objectives.

“ODE is ecstatic to be a part of this groundbreaking initiative and to contribute to the development of the next generation of energy solutions.”

It comes after ERM received £9 million from the UK government last week to explore hydrogen projects, including Dolphyn.

“This financing from the UK Government gives a welcome boost to the ERM Dolphyn project, as the hydrogen economy enters an exciting new phase of growth,” said David Caine, partner at ERM.

“We’re excited to collaborate with ODE to provide low-carbon hydrogen as part of the energy transition that will assist the UK to reach its net-zero aspirations.”

ERM previously stated that it plans to build a 10MW demonstration unit 15 kilometers off the coast of Aberdeen, comparable to the existing Kincardine floating offshore wind farm.

The site of the larger scaled-up project is yet unknown.

Simply Blue Energy and Subsea 7 announced last year that they are looking at using ERM’s Dolphyn technology in their Salamander wind project off the coast of Peterhead.