Through Innovation Norway, the Norwegian government has approved grants for construction and testing of the green hydrogen offshore energy system, Deep Purple, in Norway.
The €9 million pilot project will see London-based offshore services provider TechnipFMC leading a consortium with the aim to advance energy systems for offshore wind in combination with green hydrogen production and storage.
The system consists of offshore wind turbines and offshore hydrogen technologies for the production, storage and transportation energy in the form of pressurized green hydrogen. It can also be used to produce, store and deliver hydrogen to consumers at sea or exported in a pipeline to shore.
The TechnipFMC consortium consists of industrial partners Vattenfall, oil firm Repsol, technology company ABB, NEL, class society DNV GL, UMOE and Slåttland, and is supported by academia, research companies and clusters. The pilot will allow the consortium partners to prepare the system for large-scale offshore commercial use.
Securing the approvals and funding to proceed with a scale pilot is a critical step in the path to commercialization. We are grateful to our partners and to Innovation Norway for collaborating with us as we advance sustainable renewables production,
…said Jonathan Landes, president of subsea at TechnipFMC.
How it works
When the wind is active, wind turbines produce electricity that is delivered directly to the consumer. During periods of excess available power, water is spilt into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. Fresh water for the electrolysis process is produced from seawater using reverse osmosis. The hydrogen is transported to the seabed, where it is stored under pressure in dedicated tanks. During periods of low or no wind, fuel cells will convert the stored energy back into electricity to satisfy the energy demand.
