Oct 03 | 2019
400MW Capacity Design
Offshore engineering specialist Tractabel has announced plans to develop a unique offshore hydrogen platform, designed to create new power generation opportunities from wind farms.
The advanced proposal envisions an “industrial-scale” electrolysis plant built next to existing wind farms to harness waste energy. If successful the technology promises to pave the way for a new source of breakbulk demand as the offshore wind energy sector scales up.
“On the basis of the new type of platform model, the Tractebel team are currently working on a detailed solution for the use of the platform at an industrial scale,” a spokesperson for Tractabel said.
400MW Capacity
The designs for the proposed platform are to be developed by a team of energy experts from Tractebel Engineering and offshore engineers from sister company Tractebel Overdick.
Early proposals suggest the plant could generate up to 400 megawatts and enable simultaneous increases in the proportion of “green” hydrogen (H2) in the energy mix as well as providing an efficient energy storage medium to balance out seasonal fluctuations in renewable energy sources.
“Delivering up to 400 megawatts, this kind of plant exceeds the output of previous technologies many times over. It could already be put into practice today, for example in the North Sea,” Tractabel states.
‘Enormous Potential’
The next stage of development is expected to involve detailed feasibility studies, with analysis of the costs to transport, install and operate offshore H2 platforms from an EPC supplier perspective. Should break-even be commercially viable it is expected this work could significantly impact breakbulk demand across new wind projects globally.
“In large-scale offshore wind farms Tractebel sees enormous potential for CO2-neutral production of “green” hydrogen … Putting the brakes on climate change and meeting the challenges of the energy transition is now more urgent than ever,” the firm said in a statement.
Based in Brussels, Belgium, Tractebel is a subsidiary of French multinational electric utility Engie. Last yhear, the group acquired specialised offshore engineering firm Overdick, based in Hamburg, Germany.
The advanced proposal envisions an “industrial-scale” electrolysis plant built next to existing wind farms to harness waste energy. If successful the technology promises to pave the way for a new source of breakbulk demand as the offshore wind energy sector scales up.
“On the basis of the new type of platform model, the Tractebel team are currently working on a detailed solution for the use of the platform at an industrial scale,” a spokesperson for Tractabel said.
400MW Capacity
The designs for the proposed platform are to be developed by a team of energy experts from Tractebel Engineering and offshore engineers from sister company Tractebel Overdick.
Early proposals suggest the plant could generate up to 400 megawatts and enable simultaneous increases in the proportion of “green” hydrogen (H2) in the energy mix as well as providing an efficient energy storage medium to balance out seasonal fluctuations in renewable energy sources.
“Delivering up to 400 megawatts, this kind of plant exceeds the output of previous technologies many times over. It could already be put into practice today, for example in the North Sea,” Tractabel states.
‘Enormous Potential’
The next stage of development is expected to involve detailed feasibility studies, with analysis of the costs to transport, install and operate offshore H2 platforms from an EPC supplier perspective. Should break-even be commercially viable it is expected this work could significantly impact breakbulk demand across new wind projects globally.
“In large-scale offshore wind farms Tractebel sees enormous potential for CO2-neutral production of “green” hydrogen … Putting the brakes on climate change and meeting the challenges of the energy transition is now more urgent than ever,” the firm said in a statement.
Based in Brussels, Belgium, Tractebel is a subsidiary of French multinational electric utility Engie. Last yhear, the group acquired specialised offshore engineering firm Overdick, based in Hamburg, Germany.
