German power company RWE has signed an agreement with Neptune Energy to develop a green hydrogen demonstration project in the Dutch North Sea, targeting an electrolyser capacity of 300 to 500 MW. The H2opZee project will be developed in two phases, the companies said in a statement. The first will focus on feasibility studies, while the second will focus on implementation. The goal is to develop the project by 2030.

“Hydrogen is a game-changer for decarbonizing energy-intensive industries, and H2opZee is one of the first projects of its kind and scale in the world,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Renewables Offshore Wind. Hydrogen has a wide range of applications and can Deployed in a wide range of industries. It can be produced in several ways. One method involves the use of electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable energy source such as wind or solar, then some call it green or renewable hydrogen.

The companies said H2opZee will use offshore wind energy to produce green hydrogen, with existing pipelines used to bring the hydrogen to shore. The companies said the pipeline has a capacity of between 10 and 12 gigawatts. "If we integrate the existing gas infrastructure into the new system, the energy transition can be faster, cheaper and cleaner," said Lexde Groot, managing director of Neptune Energy in the Netherlands. "This infrastructure is technically suitable. So there is no need for new pipelines offshore, and no new landings through coastal areas."

The concept of transporting hydrogen using existing infrastructure is not new. In July 2021, the CEO of energy infrastructure company Snam outlined a future vision for hydrogen, saying its "beauty" is that it can be easily stored and transported. Snam CEO Marco Alverà talks about how current systems can be used to facilitate the delivery of hydrogen produced using renewable resources and biofuels. "Right now, if you turn on your heater in Italy, gas flows out of Russia, all the way from Siberia through pipelines," he said. We will produce hydrogen from solar and wind resources in North Africa and the North Sea. Keywords: engineering news, engineering construction

While some are excited about the potential of green hydrogen, the vast majority of current hydrogen production is based on fossil fuels. Recently, some business leaders have spoken about what they see as the problems facing the nascent green hydrogen industry. For example, in October 2021, the CEO of Siemens Energy told CNBC that there is no business case at this moment. The European Commission has drawn up plans to install 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyzer capacity in the EU by 2030.Editor/XingWentao