The PosHYdon project has received a 3.6 million euro subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
PosHYdon is the world’s first operational offshore green hydrogen pilot. With this grant, the consortium will be able to begin all of the pilot’s activities. The consortium partners will cover the remaining costs.
PosHYdon will comprise the building of a hydrogen-producing plant on the Neptune Energy-operated Q13a-A platform to evaluate the integration of three energy systems in the Dutch North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas, and offshore hydrogen. The Q13a-A, located approximately 13 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen, is the first completely electrified platform in the Dutch North Sea (The Hague).
The hydrogen plant on the Q13a-A platform will be powered by electricity supplied by offshore wind turbines, which will transform saltwater into demineralized water and subsequently hydrogen via electrolysis. The pilot’s goal is to gain expertise with integrating working energy systems at sea and hydrogen generation in an offshore setting. Additionally, the efficiency of an electrolyser with a variable supply from offshore wind will be examined in this research, as well as information and insights into the costs of the offshore installation and maintenance.
Green hydrogen will be blended with gas and sent to the coast using an existing gas pipeline. A maximum of 400 kilogrammes of green hydrogen will be produced every day by the 1 MW electrolyser.
René Peters, Business Director Gas Technologies TNO and initiator of the North Sea Energy Program: “PosHYdon is the ultimate 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. PosHYdon will teach us a lot about the next steps that need to be taken towards safe, large-scale green hydrogen production at sea. Offshore green hydrogen production will enable large-scale wind farms to be developed far out at sea. Wind energy is then directly converted to green hydrogen and can be transported through the existing 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 progress with PosHYdon.”
Jacqueline Vaessen, Managing Director of Nexstep, national platform for reuse and decommissioning: “Together with a number of operators and TNO, this idea arose about two years ago from a brainstorming session of the ‘Re-purpose’ working group within Nexstep. We looked at what the best location would be to host this pilot and then arrived at Neptune Energy’s Q13a-A, since that platform is already fully electrified using green electricity. Then the pioneering and search for suitable consortium partners began. This award is a crown on the preparatory work. I am therefore extremely proud PosHYdon is now ready for this important next phase.”
