Netherlands grants PosHYdon offshore green hydrogen project

The Dutch government has awarded €3.6 million ($4.2 million) to the PosHYdon project, the world’s first offshore green hydrogen pilot on a working platform.

The PosHYdon pilot wants to integrate the offshore wind, offshore gas, and offshore hydrogen in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

It is an initiative of Nexstep, the Dutch association for decommissioning and reuse, and TNO, the Dutch organisation for applied scientific research, in collaboration with the industry.

Currently, the PosHYdon consortium includes the following partners: Nexstep, TNO, Neptune Energy, Gasunie, Noordgastransport, NOGAT, DEME Offshore, TAQA, Eneco, Nel Hydrogen, InVesta, Hatenboer, IV-Offshore & Energy, and Emerson Automation Solutions.

With this subsidy of €3.6 million, awarded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the consortium can start up all activities for this pilot.

The remaining budget will be funded by the consortium partners.

The project will involve the installation of a hydrogen-producing plant on the Q13a-A platform, operated by Neptune Energy. This is the first fully electrified platform in the Dutch North Sea, located off the coast of Hague.

The hydrogen plant on the Q13a-A platform will be powered by electricity generated by offshore wind turbines.

The goal of the pilot is to gain experience in integrating energy systems at sea and the production of hydrogen in an offshore environment. In addition, the efficiency of an electrolyser with a variable supply from offshore wind will be tested.

The green hydrogen will be mixed with the gas and transported via the existing gas pipeline to the coast. The one-megawatt electrolyser will produce a maximum of 400 kilogrammes of green hydrogen per day.