Orsted has taken final investment decision on the Danish demonstration project H2RES, which will use offshore wind energy to produce renewable hydrogen.
The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021 and will be Orsted’s first renewable hydrogen project in operation.
The demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen (pictured) will have a capacity of 2MW.
The facility is expected to produce up to around 1000kg of renewable hydrogen daily, which will be used to fuel road transport in Greater Copenhagen and on Zealand.
Orsted executive vice president and chief executive of Orsted Offshore Martin Neubert said: “We see renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels as cornerstones in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and H2RES will contribute with key learnings to turn Europe’s ambitious build-out targets for renewable hydrogen into a new industrial success story.
“With the right framework in place that incentivises the shift away from fossil fuels, renewable hydrogen can decarbonise transport and heavy industry, which is paramount to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy.”
Orsted has partnered with different consortia in seven renewable hydrogen projects in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom over the past 18 months.
The H2RES project will investigate how to best combine an electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Orsted’s two 3.6MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme.
Orsted Vice President and head of hydrogen activities Anders Nordstrøm said: “Renewable hydrogen will be a cornerstone in achieving Denmark’s ambitious decarbonisation target.
“H2RES is an example of how public co-funding coupled with a committed hydrogen industry and ambitious offtakers can drive the decarbonisation of the transport sector.
“H2RES is a small but important step towards large-scale renewable hydrogen production, and it will allow us to demonstrate how offshore wind combined with onshore electrolysis can offer decarbonisation beyond direct electrification.”
The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) under the Danish Energy Agency has previously awarded DKK 34.6m (€4.65m) for the development of the H2RES project to Orsted, Everfuel Europe A/S, NEL Hydrogen A/S, Green Hydrogen Systems A/S, DSV Panalpina A/S, Hydrogen Denmark, and Energinet Elsystemansvar A/S.