Europe throws into the sea first artificial island which will supply half of the continent. If this man-made island in Belgium has caught your attention, you can’t miss the following. To put ourselves in context, we need to look at hydrogen production. Such generation on energy islands could save more than 4 billion euros per year on the future German energy system.
A new study of Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (IEE) analyzed the economic consequences for the European energy system of the advent of the establishment of offshore H.
The report considers expanding Germany’s target of building 70 GW of offshore wind power and studies the economic impact of allowing offshore H generation on two energy islands connected to 10 GW of offshore wind power (figure for each).
This contrasts with a context in which electricity from offshore wind farms is brought ashore and can be used without restrictions within the German energy framework. The analysis concludes that Germany can achieve annual savings of up to 4.3 billion euros by negotiating offshore H production on two energy islands.
Hydrogen production on energy islands could save millions of euros in Europe
Both energy islands have a limited connection to the electricity grid and are located approximately 150 kilometers off the coast in the German economic area of the North Sea. The savings are mainly achieved by reducing network construction costs, especially the cables from the coast to the center Germanyin addition to greater use of HVDC cables.
In addition, the analysis shows that generating hydrogen on the high seas is more efficient than on land. The reason is that hydrogen production near the renewable energy source reduces the level of energy loss and investment in extensive electricity transmission routes.
Denmark (Europe) has an artificial green hydrogen island
In May 2022, in the North Mars Summit in Esbjerg, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark completed the signing of the “Esbjerg Statement”. This alliance demonstrates the commitment to jointly benefit from the green energy potential of the North Sea.
That’s where it comes in Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) with the initiative to build an artificial island specifically aimed at the large-scale production of green hydrogen from offshore wind energy. It’s called “BrintØ“, which translated means”Hydrogen island”.
Thanks to this agreement, said infrastructure would be built in the Danish part of the region North Sea. It is expected that the island will be able to supply an unimaginable amount of green hydrogen by 2030, which will therefore be a crucial step in guaranteeing the future green energy supply of Europe.
The project makes a clear contribution to achieving the energy targets imposed by the Danish government. BrintØ could become the first island of its kind. If it were a successful initiative, other neighboring energy islands would be implemented. They also have a requirement to produce large-scale offshore wind energy for export to the signatory countries Esbjeg statement.
Europe launches Denmark’s first artificial island into the sea
This artificial green hydrogen island will be located in Doggersbank and will mainly focus on large-scale production. Likewise, it will be connected to 10 GW of offshore wind energy, which will mainly be used to generate green hydrogen Power to X for trucks, boats and planes.
Green hydrogen can be exported to the northwest of the country EU (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) via offshore hydrogen pipelines of about 275 kilometers. It is estimated that it could be in production by 2030.
Europe launches the first artificial island in the sea. It will supply half the continent and will have a presence Denmark. This is a project as striking and potential as the Hydrogen City in Saudi Arabia.