Page 54: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2023)

TECH FOCUS: GREEN HYDROGEN OFFSHORE ©Lhyfe

It’s (Really) Not Easy Being Green (Hydrogen) hile the jury is still out on maritime ‘fuel of the power hub. "As of June 20, 2023, the platform began produc- future,’ green hydrogen is seen globally as a par- ing its ? rst kilos of offshore hydrogen, marking a milestone

W ticularly invaluable part to the process – as well as for the future of the sector. The progress of the Sealhyfe trial a potential fuel – particularly in the ? ght to decarbonize heavy once again demonstrates Lhyfe’s ability to bring about con- and long-haul transport industries like shipping. crete advances in the hydrogen industry and at great strides,"

While the promise is real, the challenges are many, includ- Lhyfe said in a press release. With the aim of scaling to com- ing the high cost of renewable energy sources themselves, the mercial production, Lhyfe opted to choose a challenging trial energy-intensive electrolysis process and the development of area. Lhyfe said that the 1 MW electrolyzer supplied by Plug infrastructure. Similar to other giant strides in technology, the will be put to the test under real conditions on a ? oating plat- mass production of green hydrogen will take a broad mix of form, a WAVEGEM platform, engineered by GEPS Techno, political will (ie. funding), corporate nerve and individual in- that was re-engineered to stabilize the production unit at sea. novation. Connected to Central Nantes’ SEM-REV offshore testing hub operated by the OPEN-C Foundation, a hub that is already

Going Offshore linked with a ? oating wind turbine, FLOATGEN, engineered

Producing green hydrogen in the offshore environment and operated by BW Ideol.

presents a number of advantages, led by the abundance of re- The Sealhyfe platform, which is less than 200 sq. m., is de- newable energy (such as integration into the rapidly expand- signed to produce up to 400 kilograms of hydrogen a day.

ing offshore wind grids globally) to generate electricity to run In another project, Dutch offshore wind farm developer the power-hungry electrolysis process. In addition, readily CrossWind awarded Italy’s Rosetti Marino a new engineer- abundant seawater can be used to cool the electrolyzers, help- ing, procurement, construction, installation and commission- ing to boost ef? ciency and reduce costs. ing (EPCIC) contract for an offshore green hydrogen pro-

But these offshore pluses are weighed down with an equal, duction and storage pilot plant dubbed the Baseload Power if not greater number of risks, including the much higher Ca- Hub, which will be located within CrossWind’s Hollandse pEx and OpEx costs due to the inherent challenges associated Kust Noord offshore wind farm, 18.5 km off the Dutch coast. with working ef? ciently, cost-effectively and safely in the off- CrossWind is a joint venture between Shell (80%) and Eneco shore environment; the logistical challenges of delivering the (20%). According to Rosetti Marino, the project will convert hydrogen from the sea to the shore; and last but certainly not excess wind energy to green hydrogen through an electrolyzer least, the many unknowns of operating the electrolyzers – de- and store it as green hydrogen that can be converted to elec- signed and optimized for onshore operations – in the caustic tricity when needed via a fuel cell, including also battery stor- offshore environment age for shorter-term power storage. The aim of the project is

Despite the negatives, Lhyfe, a French company hellbent stabilize power ? ow when the wind isn’t blowing as briskly on meeting and beating the challenges, earlier this summer and/or during power demand surges.

announcing a “world ? rst:” Its Sealhyfe pilot project started The scope of work of the contract awarded to Rosetti Ma- producing green hydrogen in the Atlantic Ocean, 20 km off rino SpA includes detailed engineering of the Baseload Power

Le Croisic, France and now connected with the SEM-REV Hub, procurement of material and equipment, construction 54 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2023

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