A floating wind-to-hydrogen project off Aberdeen has been awarded front end engineering and design (FEED) work to Principle Power.
Plans for Dolphyn, or Deepwater Offshore Local Production of HYdrogeN, created by Environmental Resources Management (ERM), call for the building of a demonstrator project that can generate green hydrogen from saltwater at scale utilizing floating offshore wind power.
Based on Principle Power’s WindFloat technology, the project employs a modular design to connect electrolyser facilities and a wind turbine on a moored semi-submersible platform.
ERM earlier stated that it planned to place the unit 15 km off Aberdeen and use a design similar to the already-existing Kincardine floating offshore wind farm. With the most recent funding, Principle will advance FEED studies for the project, concentrating on the floating foundation component. It comes after the UK Government awarded £8.62 million in funds to advance the development.
By the summer of 2025, the 10-MW demonstrator unit is expected to be finished and operational. According to ERM, the plan may be expanded up to a total of 4GW capacity after the demonstrator phase, which would provide electricity for more than 1.5 million homes.
The project is a component of the UK’s hydrogen coast initiative, which would create over 100,000 new jobs by 2050 and over 10,000 new jobs by 2030.
