A consortium that includes BW Offshore has received a €3m grant from the Dutch government for an industrial scale floating green hydrogen and ammonia project.
Project OFFSET is led by SwitcH2 and includes MARIN, TU Delft and Strohm as well as BW Offshore.
The development is based on the proven concept of a floating production and offloading vessel (FPSO).
The project was selected by the RVO (the execution arm of the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy in the Netherlands) as the recipient of the grant under the Missiegedregen Onderzoek en Ontwikkeling (MOOI) – Mission driven Research and Development – scheme.
The objective of the OFFSET development will be to demonstrate a decrease in the cost of green fuel production and thereby increase its accessibility.
The consortium will involve stakeholders from different sectors, such as energy companies, wind farm operators and developers, as well as energy-intensive industry sectors as potential future offtakers.
As part of the project scope, the partners aim to develop a floating hydrogen and/or ammonia production and storage facility which will be connected to an adjacent wind farm by 2027.
The produced hydrogen can be transported to shore through existing oil and gas pipelines or newly installed TCP, whereas the produced ammonia can be transported to end-users by shuttle tankers.
SwitcH2 is the project developer and will coordinate the overall program, enhancing the basis for a technically and commercially viable concept.
BW Offshore is focused on the topside arrangement, hull, and mooring system design; while TU Delft will lead the research into the direct use of seawater in the electrolysis process and develop a robust seawater electrolysis process via implementation of improved electrocatalysts.
Strohm will provide its proprietary non-corrosive Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) technology for hydrogen storage and offloading. A scale model of the final design will be built to test its hydrodynamic performance in MARIN’s wave basins.
SVP project development at BW Offshore Fredrik Savio said: “With our longstanding experience in the offshore energy production industry, BW Offshore is committed to exploring opportunities which will support the transition to low carbon energy solutions.
“The OFFSET collaboration brings together established partners and principles with innovative elements that may unlock pathways to zero carbon fuel production and distribution.”