Siemens Invests $150 Million in Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Systems

iemens is also a partner in the AquaVentus consortium, a joint partnership with Vattenfall, Vestas, Shell and RWE for the production of green hydrogen from wind off Heligoland, Germany.

January 14, 2021 Stu Turley Hydrogen, International News, Renewables, Wind
Siemens Invests 150 Million in Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Systems

Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy have announced a major investment in R&D on an offshore wind-powered green hydrogen production system. The two companies will be spending about $150 million to develop the project, making it one of the largest private investments to date in this niche.

“I don’t know any other company that combines wind energy, electrolysis and offshore high voltage technology all in one enterprise,” said Christian Bruch, chief executive of Siemens Energy, speaking to Reuters.

The project involves reworking the 14 megawatt Siemens Gamesa turbine in order to integrate it with the requirements of running electrolyzers. The design will use an electrolyzer array installed at the base of the offshore wind turbine tower.

 

 

The target market is the European chemical and steelmaking sectors, which can use green hydrogen to decarbonize their operations. The pilot project farm will be located in German waters and will be built out at the 100-200 megawatt scale (small for a commercial installation).

Siemens is also a partner in the AquaVentus consortium, a joint partnership with Vattenfall, Vestas, Shell and RWE for the production of green hydrogen from wind off Heligoland, Germany. The AquaVentus venture has a target size of 10 gigawatts of capacity. As with Siemens’ newly announced venture, AquaVentus is targeted at supplying industrial consumers of hydrogen, primarily chemical manufacturers.

This so-called “islanded” hydrogen production arrangement – with offshore wind powering H2 electrolysis directly – has advantages for developing renewable energy in Europe, where the power grid is already facing capacity issues. By decoupling the wind farm from the electrical grid, more power capacity can be added without the (very high) additional expense of more transmission capacity. Siemens says that it will  lower the cost of hydrogen by being able to run off grid, amd will open up possibilities for more and better wind sites.

About Stu Turley 3379 Articles
Stuart Turley is President and CEO of Sandstone Group, a top energy data, and finance consultancy working with companies all throughout the energy value chain. Sandstone helps both small and large-cap energy companies to develop customized applications and manage data workflows/integration throughout the entire business. With experience implementing enterprise networks, supercomputers, and cellular tower solutions, Sandstone has become a trusted source and advisor.   He is also the Executive Publisher of www.energynewsbeat.com, the best source for 24/7 energy news coverage, and is the Co-Host of the energy news video and Podcast Energy News Beat. Energy should be used to elevate humanity out of poverty. Let's use all forms of energy with the least impact on the environment while being sustainable without printing money. Stu is also a co-host on the 3 Podcasters Walk into A Bar podcast with David Blackmon, and Rey Trevino. Stuart is guided by over 30 years of business management experience, having successfully built and help sell multiple small and medium businesses while consulting for numerous Fortune 500 companies. He holds a B.A in Business Administration from Oklahoma State and an MBA from Oklahoma City University.

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