A world first floating green hydrogen project off the coast of Aberdeen appears to be dead in the water.
The scheme, called Dolphyn, was expected to help put the Granite City on the map as a global leader in energy transition.
It was hailed as a “transformative” development for Europe’s oil and gas capital when plans for it were unveiled three years ago.
Green hydrogen developer backtracks on Aberdeen plan
But multinational green energy consultancy Environmental Resources Management (ERM) has withdrawn its bid for more UK Government cash for the single unit demonstrator scheme.
And the firm now plans to seek funding for a later, larger scale project at a site that will “allow expansion at a single location”.
It is currently unclear whether the UK North Sea could still host the development.
ERM said it was progressing with talks about the delivery of commercial scale projects off Scotland in the North Sea, as well as in the Celtic Sea, off Wales, and areas off Ireland.
Innovative system designed to operate on floating wind farms
Dolphyn is billed as a first-of-a kind technology combining electrolysis, desalination and hydrogen production on a floating wind turbine platform, with gas sent to shore through a pipeline.
It was expected to deliver new jobs in the north-east, part of a wave of thousands supported by a UK hydrogen sector, during and after its installation in the North Sea.
Aberdeen was chosen over Orkney and Cornwall for the project, with plans showing green hydrogen production taking place about nine miles off the Granite City coast.
A two-megawatt (MW) prototype was slated for 2024, followed by a 10MW unit in 2027. ERM aimed to have a 10-turbine hydrogen-producing wind farm online by 2030.
The company previously secured £3 million of government funding for its Dolphyn scheme. But it has now withdrawn from the Hydrogen Business Model subsidy programme, aimed at 10 gigawatts (GW) of low carbon hydrogen generation up and running in the UK by 2030, with the first 1GW in construction or operational by 2025.
Green hydrogen is obtained by the electrolysis of water in process powered wholly by renewable energy. It is widely seen as a vital ingredient in achieving net-zero ambitions in the UK.
North Sea wind farm partners Orsted, Simply Blue Energy and Subsea 7 have previously explored the potential for building ERM’s Dolphyn technology into their Salamander project off Peterhead.
According to ERM, pairing green hydrogen with floating wind is “a very sensible option”.
Energy industry veteran Sir Ian Wood has previously described the potential for their combination in the North Sea as “a hugely positive development and one that reinforces our region’s credentials in becoming a globally recognised energy cluster.”
Conversation