Sea-based platforms producing green hydrogen and ammonia could give Asian nations such as Vietnam a new option to make large-scale offshore wind viable, claimed a regional developer working on a ‘one-stop shop’ concept that’s hoped to be commercialised as early as 2025.

Enterprize Energy recently linked up with engineering consultancy Tractebel Overdick to advance the ‘Energy-Plus’ platform that’s powered by offshore wind but can output electricity, H₂ or ammonia, with plans underway to trial the technology – possibly on repurposed former oil & gas assets in the North Sea – within two years.

Enterprize CEO Ian Hatton said the idea builds on a model from the oil & gas sector of “taking the technology to where the resource is best” and claimed the platform could turbocharge the business case for offshore wind in nations with good untapped wind resources but challenges exporting power for long distances on land.

The developer is advancing one of Asia’s largest offshore wind plans with the 3.4GW Thang Long project off Vietnam’s south, which Enterprize hopes will be included in the nation’s next national energy plan.

Hatton told Recharge that Vietnam faces a $10bn investment bill to improve its south-north transmission links, but the production of transportable fuels – potentially for export out of the country – could provide another option for a development that boasts “excellent” wind resources, and which could accommodate an extra 1.6GW of generation capacity if latest turbines are used.

“There’s a rising tide with green fuels that will eventually float many boats.

“It’s a question of when that arrives in Vietnam, and I think it will be sooner rather than later,” said Hatton, pointing to expected demand for energy transition-friendly fuels across Asia.

Hatton said talks are underway to trial Energy-Plus within two years, potentially by equipping an oil & gas asset in the North Sea with the green fuel production systems. He said the system is composed of “kit that all works now” with a focus on integrating and refining it in an offshore environment.

The developer claimed the full-scale concept should become “commercially relevant” in five to eight years, a timescale he said dovetails with the build-out of large-scale offshore wind in Asia.

Hatton declined to comment on cost estimates for hydrogen or ammonia produced via electrolysis onboard one of the 400MW platforms envisaged, but insisted it can be competitive thanks to its proximity to large-scale generation and ability to target specific local markets such as green ammonia for shipping fuel, while avoiding “the cost of hundreds of kilometres of of transmission line to an onshore electrolysis plant”.

“There are all kinds of niches that open up for something like Energy-Plus to be relevant in different parts of the world,” claimed Hatton.

The ability to produce fuels like green hydrogen offshore, and independently of the wider power system, is seen as a possible game-changer for some applications.

RWE revealed last week that it is planning to produce H₂ from electrolysers directly integrated at the base of the tower of two 14MW turbines in Germany, while an ambitious plan off the UK envisages large-scale electrolysis on floating wind platforms.

Wind

'Green fuels will float many boats': hydrogen platform could help offshore wind crack Asia, says developer