Norwegian trio Arendals Fossekompani, Kongsberg and Moreld have joined forces to develop a combined offshore substation and hydrogen factory.
The three partners will have equal shares in a new company called Hydepoint.
Hydepoint aims to contribute to solving several challenges related to the development and upscaling of offshore wind power, the companies said.
Moreld brings offshore infrastructure solutions, Kongsberg contributes with power and management systems, and Arendals Fossekompani offers solutions for optimised planning and operation.
Arendals Fossekompani executive vice president Morten Henriksen said: “Hydepoint is a complete solution for receiving, converting, and transmitting the full energy potential from offshore wind farms, with reduced dependence on the onshore power grid.
Placed in the ocean, close to wind farms, Hydepoint can convert all or part of the energy into hydrogen. This will reduce the need for upscaling the power grid both to and on land.
“Demand for hydrogen is already significant and expected to grow further. Hydrogen is utilized directly in several industries and will also be used for production of alternative energy carriers, such as ammonia and synthetic LNG.
“Green hydrogen, that is hydrogen produced based on renewable energy, will replace gray hydrogen, which is based on natural gas. This will have a positive environmental effect both short-term and long-term.”
Kongsberg chief executive Geir Haoy said: “Kongsberg already has significant activities in offshore wind, offering solutions that enable efficient development and operation of offshore wind.
“For offshore wind to work in complex energy systems, it is crucial to ensure attractive and robust solutions for energy conversion, storage, and management.
“Hydepoint contributes to solving these challenges by allowing surplus power to be converted directly to hydrogen offshore. Hydrogen can be stored, transported, and used alternatively.”
Moreld chief executive Geir Austigard said: “There is a great potential for reducing costs through solutions that can be industrialised, standardised and built in large numbers.
“Hydepoint will offer fully developed substations where both costs and delivery time are significantly reduced.”