Offshore hydrogen | Germany plans 1GW of wind-powered green H2 production at sea, with pipeline to shore
Government sets aside North Sea acreage exclusively for electrolysis in new 30GW offshore wind development scheme
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The newly created SEN-1 zone will have an electrolyser capacity of up to 1GW, with an electricity cable to shore forbidden.
According to a press release from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action: “Electricity from offshore wind farms is ideal, among other things, for obtaining hydrogen by electrolysis. In order to test these technologies on an industrial scale on the high seas, the area development plan defines an enlarged area in the North Sea, which can be connected with a hydrogen pipeline. The area enables an electrolysis capacity of up to 1GW.”
“The first step will see the SEN-1 hydrogen wind farm connected to AquaDuctus, with flows to start in 2030,” said Gascade.
“In subsequent years, wind farms further offshore in Germany’s exclusive economic zone may be linked up, as well as hydrogen infrastructure operated by other North Sea countries. By 2035, the offshore pipeline is to develop into a main hydrogen corridor carrying up to one million tonnes of hydrogen a year into Germany.”
It adds: “Based on the gas and hydrogen package currently being negotiated at European level, the two long-standing transmission system operators plan the AquaDuctus offshore pipeline as a regulated open access infrastructure available to all future operators of hydrogen wind farms, thereby strengthening security of supply in the future.”
As only 8.1GW of offshore wind has so far been installed in German waters, the new development plan will only succeed if permitting is fast-tracked.
The German government last year gave offshore wind projects the status of “overriding public interest”, which it believes will speed up permitting and lower environmental hurdles.