Vattenfall sets its sights on hydrogen production in the North Sea

Vattenfall plans offshore hydrogen cluster in the Netherlands

Vattenfall sets its sights on hydrogen production in the North Sea
Photo: Vattenfall

In the pursuit of developing offshore hydrogen production capacity, Vattenfall has unveiled details of its bid to establish a hydrogen cluster at part of the Hollandse Kust West (HKW) wind farm, off the coast of the Netherlands.

Its plan would see three wind turbines in lot VII of the HKW site equipped with electrolysers, with a combined capacity of 45MW, which would then be transferred to the Port of Rotterdam via pipeline.

The company has said that it plans to deploy electrolyser modules, transformers, and batteries in a container unit on to platforms at the HKW wind farm.

Its bid to occupy the proposed section of the site is set to be review by the Dutch Government with the company hoping to get the go ahead by the autumn of 2022.

H2 View understands that Vattenfall intends to leverage on experience it is set to gain from its Hydrogen Turbine 1 (HT1) project. The pilot project planned at the company’s offshore wind farm in Aberdeen Bay, Scotland, plans to produce hydrogen offshore.

The UK Government awarded the Swedish company £9.3m ($11.6m) for the project which anticipates establishing 8MW of output.

Catrin Jung, Head of Offshore Wind at Vattenfall, said:

“Hydrogen production at the source offers clear advantages, not only in financial terms, but because it is practical.

“Hydrogen is set to play an important role in the future. The experience we gain in Scotland through offshore production can be applied on a larger scale at Hollandse Kust West. This makes the wind farm an important next step towards hydrogen production on a commercial scale.”