Plug Power Inc., a pioneer in hydrogen products and services for the green hydrogen economy, was selected as one of a consortium of companies that received a US$21.8 million grant from the European Commission to develop an offshore hydrogen production plant.
As part of the nine-company partnership HOPE (Hydrogen Offshore Production Europe), Plug will build and deliver a 10-MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer facility to the location in the North Sea, off the port of Ostend, Belgium.
This 10 MW offshore hydrogen project attempts to demonstrate the commercial viability of renewable offshore hydrogen generation to enable large-scale commercial solutions deployment.
The HOPE project is expected to generate up to four tons of green hydrogen per day offshore.
From here, it will be transported ashore by pipeline, where they will compress it and supply it to customers in the mobility and small industry sectors in Belgium, northern France, and the southern Netherlands within a 200-mile radius.[1]
“We are grateful for the European Commission’s support to demonstrate the viability of offshore green hydrogen production at scale. Once successfully demonstrated, we anticipate private sector investments in offshore hydrogen production will accelerate,” said Andy Marsh, Plug’s CEO.
They expect manufacturing, export, and distribution infrastructure operations to begin by the middle of 2026.
What is the HOPE Project?
The HOPE consortium’s principal goal is to develop a large-scale offshore renewable hydrogen generation strategy.
Because it is less than a mile from the beach, the offshore testing area at the port of Ostend in Belgium, which aims to be a critical link in Belgium’s hydrogen supply chain, will be an ideal location for the HOPE project.
The production site will be supplied with electricity via power purchase agreements (PPAs), ensuring the electricity is renewable.
Pumping, desalination, and purification of electrolysis water will take place in the North Sea.
The group aims to create a market for large-scale offshore renewable hydrogen generation.
The HOPE project will be responsible for designing, building, and operating a large-scale offshore hydrogen plant with pipeline transport to serve onshore consumers and demonstrate such a plant’s technical and economic viability.
The award, which has a five-year duration, will be used to pay for the planning stages, equipment purchases, building work, as well as R&D and innovation projects aimed at improving technological advancements and the performance of this kind of infrastructure.
The award will include a techno-economic examination of large-scale offshore renewable hydrogen generation options.
References
- Plug Power Inc., ‘Plug Power to Design and Deliver 10MW PEM Electrolyzer to HOPE Project’, 27 June 2023, https://www.ir.plugpower.com/press-releases/news-details/2023/Plug-Power-to-Design-and-Deliver-10MW-PEM-Electrolyzer-to-HOPE-Project/default.aspx[↩]
