Danish energy company Ørsted has committed its investment to the H2RES renewable hydrogen demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen.
It marks the energy group’s first renewable hydrogen project and a significant development in the potential to harness offshore wind beyond direct electrification.
The HSRES facility will have a capacity of 2MW and produce up to around 1,000kg of renewable hydrogen daily, which will be used to fuel road transport in and around Greater Copenhagen. The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021.
“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,” said Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore.
“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.”
Global offshore wind resources are particularly suited to power renewable hydrogen electrolysis, says Ørsted. The H2RES project will investigate how to best combine an electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Ørsted’s two 3.6 MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme.
Anders Nordstrøm, Vice President and Head of Ørsted’s hydrogen activities, says, “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.”
