Renewables – hydrogen
Siemens Energy has secured €100m of funding for a project which aims to link offshore wind turbines with electrolyzers to directly convert electricity into hydrogen.
The H2Mare project aims to establish a whole new type of turbine at sea in the future – a solution which integrates an electrolyzer into an offshore wind turbine optimally for direct conversion of the electricity.
In addition, the project will also investigate further offshore power-to-X processes, aided by the funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Siemens Energy is responsible for the coordination of H2Mare and is supported by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems.
The offshore wind turbines of the future are set to produce molecules instead of electrons, according to the Institute.
Self-sufficient units comprising a wind turbine and an integrated electrolyzer produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale and save the costs of connection to the grid.
In this way, they can make a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In a second phase, the green hydrogen can be converted into further synthetic fuels and energy carriers.