Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a technical concept and design for a hydrogen generation plant optimized for use at sea. The “OffsH2ore” project aims to define a technically and economically optimized design for an integrated offshore hydrogen production plant using proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis, including the transport of the compressed hydrogen gas to land.

The power supply for the electrolysis comes from an offshore wind farm directly connected to a 500 MW electrolysis platform. The platform can produce up to 50,000 tons of green hydrogen per year. Fresh water for the PEM electrolyser is obtained by desalinating seawater using residual heat from electrolysis.

The produced hydrogen is purified and dried, compressed to 500 bar, and transferred to a transport vessel that can carry up to 400 tons of hydrogen from the platform to the mainland. This concept is independent of the hydrogen transport pipeline and offers flexibility in the choice of location.