In focus: Global innovations and collaborations take the wheel of energy transition

The direction of the global transition to clean energy is getting more refined each week, as more of the world’s energy majors start investing in innovation and collaboration to shift energy production away from GHG-heavy sources.

This week brought to light a couple of large-scale energy projects that take pride in innovation while also claiming the title of “world’s first”.

One of those is taking place in the Middle East, with two UAE-based energy giants Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announcing a $3.6 billion strategic project that is expected to significantly decarbonise ADNOC’s offshore production operations.

The project wants to bring to life a first-of-its-kind high-voltage, direct current (HVDC-VSC) subsea transmission system in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It aims to power ADNOC’s offshore production operations with cleaner and more efficient energy, delivered through the Abu Dhabi onshore power grid, owned and operated by TAQA.

With this initiative, the two companies expect to reduce the carbon footprint of ADNOC’s offshore operations by more than 30 per cent, by replacing existing offshore gas turbine generators with more sustainable power sources available on the Abu Dhabi onshore power network.

Another one of such projects claims to be the world’s first offshore infrastructure and processing facilities concept for the storage of hydrogen in offshore caverns.

As green hydrogen from offshore wind energy is becoming an important component of the global energy transition, there is a growing need for production rates of hydrogen production technologies to reach an industrial scale.

Therefore, German-based Tractebel Overdick GmbH and partner companies revealed the design study that showcases an innovative solution for large-scale hydrogen storage on the high seas; a scalable offshore platform for the compression and storage of up to 1.2 million cubic metres of hydrogen. The concept includes underground salt caverns that will be used as storage and buffer for the hydrogen produced offshore before the gas is transported via the pipeline network to the onshore grid and finally to customers.

The study assumes a capacity equivalent to converting 2 GW of green offshore wind power into hydrogen. The newly designed storage and compressor platforms process 400,000 Nm3/h of hydrogen, which will be stored in underground salt caverns at a pressure of up to 180 bar.

This was also a week of “the firsts” when it comes to vessels that run on clean fuel or energy. Shipping company Rederi AB Gotland announced it is developing Sweden’s first large-scale hydrogen-powered vessel for both passengers and freight, with water as the only emission. The goal is to introduce a complete, sustainable and reliable system for fossil-free hydrogen that will be implemented by 2030.

Canada has also welcomed its first zero-emission, electric ferry this week.  The vessel’s diesel generators and engines were removed in 2021 and were replaced by a new electric power and propulsion system and a suite of lithium-ion batteries fueled by 100 per cent Bullfrog Power renewable electricity.

Along those lines, the construction of the first all-electric ship assist tug in the U.S. has begun at Master Boat Builders’ shipyard in Alabama. The eWolf features a design that allows the vessel to operate fully electric while maintaining full performance capabilities and zero carbon emissions.

The week also brought the news of several international cooperations on projects fully in line with the energy transition.

In that regard, Russia’s natural gas producer Novatek and Germany’s energy company Uniper progressed their large-scale cooperation by signing a term sheet on long-term supply of ammonia to primarily German market. Specifically, Novatek agreed to yearly deliver up to 1.2 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia produced at its planned Obskiy Gas Chemical Complex project. The project will include carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities as well.

The ammonia fuel will serve as a hydrogen carrier. Uniper said it will use it for future German hydrogen pipeline systems and will also be supplied directly as a clean feedstock and as a fuel.

Also, U.S. engineering company KBR has been awarded a study to help establish a green hydrogen market in Trinidad and Tobago financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Thus, KBR will look into strategies for establishing a green hydrogen economy in the country and also consider supply and demand dynamics for green hydrogen generation, transportation, and end-use applications.

Similarly, the Port of Rotterdam agreed with the goverment of Tasmania to jointly look into the feasibility of future exports of green hydrogen from Bell Bay to the Dutch port. The Port of Rotterdam plans to become a major green hydrogen import hub as well as it plans hydrogen supply chains into northwest Europe.

Speaking of the Dutch port, the week also witnessed the signing of the final contracts with the Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transport Hub and Offshore Storage (Porthos) project. This is a project aiming to manually store 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 from the industry as of 2024. Specifically, the project will transport the CO2 to a depleted gas field 20 kilometres off the coast. It will then store it at a depth of three to four kilometres under the North Sea seabed.

Finally, there has been an interesting paper by a team of U.S. national laboratories that tackled the integration of marine energy into the existing power grid, and the benefits this could have on a wider energy mix.

The report indicates that marine energy can provide important benefits to the grid in the form of energy, capacity, and reserves, as well as baseload power that strengthens the use of energy storage systems while complementing less predictable renewable generation.

“The value inherent in marine energy is particularly important as traditional energy resources, namely fossil generation, are retired, leaving resource adequacy gaps. Economically meeting these gaps necessitates a diverse portfolio approach, of which marine energy is well placed to help address”, the report states.

Accordingly, the researchers have identified the key next steps to be taken by researchers, the marine energy industry, and electric grid stakeholders to fully exploit the value marine energy represents to the grid.