Vattenfall has been awarded 9.3 million GBP in innovation funding from the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to develop the world’s first hydrogen-producing offshore wind turbine.
The funding has been awarded by the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to support the production of large quantities of fossil-free hydrogen and enable the UK to decarbonise key industries such as heavy industry, heavy transport, and public transport. Indeed, Vattenfall claims that the pilot project will be able to produce enough hydrogen each day to power a hydrogen bus for 15,000 miles.
Energy Minister Greg Hands said:The UK is truly leading the world in hydrogen innovation thanks to the exciting efforts of companies like Vattenfall. The government support which they have received today will help to boost the development of hydrogen as the clean, affordable, homegrown superfuel of the future.
The pilot project will operate at Vattenfall’s Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm to test the full integration of a hydrogen-producing electrolyser with an offshore wind turbine. The hydrogen will then be piped to shore at the Port of Aberdeen.
Throughout the project, Vattenfall will examine the system’s real-time response to a variable power source to determine how fossil-free hydrogen can be produced safely and at low cost. This research will consequently pave the way for large-scale commercial production of hydrogen within the UK.
Bob Sanguinetti, Chief Executive for the Port of Aberdeen, said:This is a great development for the production and onshore use of green hydrogen and speaks volumes for the ingenuity and skills which Aberdeen has on its doorstep. This project will reinforce Aberdeen’s reputation as a leader for clean hydrogen production and will set the tone for the development of these sectors. The Port of Aberdeen is in a prominent position for opportunities such as this. Our port infrastructure and facilities, combined with our strategic proximity to North Sea assets and knowledgeable supply chain, make us a port of choice for the future, ready to lead with the country’s ambitious net zero targets.
Work on the project has begun, with the aim of producing hydrogen as early as 2025.
