A consortium comprising of BW Offshore, SwitcH2, MARIN, TU Delft, and Strohm has been granted €3m by the Dutch government for a floating green hydrogen and ammonia project. The project, named OFFSET, aims to demonstrate a reduction in the cost of producing green fuel, making it more accessible for potential future offtakers from various sectors such as energy companies, wind farm operators and developers, and energy-intensive industry sectors.
The OFFSET development will utilize a floating production and offloading vessel (FPSO) to produce and store hydrogen and/or ammonia, which will be connected to an adjacent wind farm by 2027. The produced hydrogen can be transported to shore through existing oil and gas pipelines or newly installed TCP, whereas the produced ammonia can be transported to end-users by shuttle tankers.
Fredrik Savio, SVP Project Development at BW Offshore, stated, “The OFFSET collaboration brings together established partners and principles with innovative elements that may unlock pathways to zero carbon fuel production and distribution.”
BW Offshore will be responsible for the topside arrangement, hull, and mooring system design, while TU Delft will lead the research into the direct use of seawater in the electrolysis process and develop a robust seawater electrolysis process via implementation of improved electrocatalysts. Strohm will provide its proprietary non-corrosive Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) technology for hydrogen storage and offloading. MARIN will build a scale model of the final design to test its hydrodynamic performance in their wave basins.
SwitcH2 is the project developer and will coordinate the overall program, enhancing the basis for a technically and commercially viable concept. According to SwitcH2, “OFFSET provides a platform to further scale-up the emerging floating green hydrogen and ammonia sector.”
The grant was awarded under the Mission-driven Research and Development (MOOI) scheme, executed by the RVO, the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy's implementation arm in the Netherlands. With this collaboration, the consortium aims to drive the transition towards low-carbon energy solutions, paving the way for a sustainable future.
