Research scientists from SINTEF and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) are working to develop technologies and concepts to make the oil and gas industry more energy-efficient and reduce emissions from offshore production.
Namely, scientists believe this can be done using fuel cells installed on the platforms. This will reduce CO2 emissions and remove the need to lay new subsea cables.
The work is being done in the LowEmission research centre. The aim is to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the Norwegian oil and gas industry by 40% by 2030.
Two concepts
At the first project “Fuel cells for zero emission heat and power”, research scientists are investigating the possibility of using fuel cells offshore. Until now, there are two different concepts that appear promising for use offshore:
- Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC): This functions at low temperature (below 100 °C) and requires pure hydrogen as fuel. These are relatively cheap and are currently in use. In the case of the PEMFC, researchers are investigating how the lifetime of the fuel cell is affected by the operating conditions it will be exposed to an offshore platform.
- Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC): This functions at temperatures above 500 °C and is less flexible where the energy supply varies because it takes longer to start up and shut down. However, the advantage of this technology is that it does not depend on hydrogen as a fuel, but can also operate using other fuels, such as natural gas and ammonia. In the case of SOFC, the scientists are investigating the performance of the cell and how the materials are affected during reversible use. According to the researchers, this high-temperature fuel cell is ideal for permanent installations combining heat and energy generation (DHP). In such situations the degree of efficiency can reach 90%.
While a gas turbine on the shelf will give us one third of the energy found in natural gas, a fuel cell can provide almost two thirds. Moreover, fuel cells can make use of the energy found in the hydrogen fuel. It is also possible to generate hydrogen locally using surplus electricity from offshore wind turbines
says Luis Colmenares-Rausseo, a research scientist at SINTEF.
