Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) and its German parent company plan to install an array of electrolysers inside the manufacturer's 14MW offshore wind turbine as part of a five-year, €120-million pilot project.
The partners plan to invest around €120 million over five years to develop a full-scale demonstration of a fully integrated offshore wind-powered green hydrogen solution by 2025 or 2026.
SGRE aims to adapt its SG 14-222 DD model to accommodate the electrolyser, while Siemens Energy plans to develop a new electrolysis product suitable for operation at sea and working with the turbine.
They plan to install an electrolyser array and desalination machine at the base of the offshore wind turbine tower, and use output from the turbine to split sea water to produce green hydrogen, the partners explained.
SGRE intends to invest €80 million in the project, while Siemens Energy will spend €40 million.
The pair also expect support from the German education and research ministry, the companies added. They have not yet decided on the location of the planned demonstration project, but confirmed it would be in Europe.
SGRE chief executive Andreas Nauen explained that green hydrogen can help decarbonise otherwise hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and heavy industry.
The manufacturer is also working with Ørsted, ITM Power and Element Energy to integrate an electrolyser with a single offshore wind turbine.
Industry experts agree that green hydrogen will be needed for society-wide decarbonisation, but debates about how to do this – including where to locate electrolysers – continue. Panellists at the recent WindEnergy Hamburg digital event noted that locating electrolysers close to a wind farm makes it easier to market the output as purely green hydrogen, while locating them closer to load centres minimises long-distance transportation.
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