Shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique and French electrolyser outfit Lhyfe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of offshore hydrogen production platforms.
This agreement follows on from Lhyfe and Chantiers de l’Atlantique already working together for 18 months as part of the SEM-REV project, to co-develop of a pilot system for offshore hydrogen production.
They are preparing to launch the world’s first offshore renewable hydrogen production demonstrator in September 2022, off the coast of Saint-Nazaire, France.
The partners said that on the strength of this first demonstrator, they intend to reinforce their partnership to deploy the system on a large scale.
Lhyfe and Chantiers de l’Atlantique will collaborate on offshore renewable hydrogen production projects with on-grid or off-grid wind farms.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique will design, build and install the platforms, while Lhyfe will be in charge of the design and operation of the renewable hydrogen production facilities.
This agreement aims not only to develop the renewable hydrogen fuel chain at sea, but in port areas as well.
For offshore projects, the two partners plan to develop production solutions with a minimum capacity of 100MW, which will be installed on existing fixed structures, or mounted on seabed foundations or floating platforms.
Thomas Créach, Lhyfe’s technical director, said: “We are delighted to take this new step forward with Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
“Thanks to the complementarity and solidity of our expertise, and based on our previous achievements, we are now in a position to respond to the various calls for tenders related to offshore.
“The production of renewable green hydrogen on a very large scale is now within reach!”
Lhyfe already has 93 projects in development for green hydrogen projects in Europe, equating to more than 4.8GW of total installed capacity, with around 20 projects at an advanced stage of development, it said.
The 20 represent a total of 380.5MW, due to be operational between 2023 and 2026.