The Netherlands – The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) announced that the FlexH2 project of the GROW consortium had been awarded a grant as part of the MOOI-SIGOHE tender scheme.
FlexH2, which stands for Flexible Offshore Wind Hydrogen Power Plant Module, is a Shell-led research project that aims to develop and demonstrate technology that will accelerate the scale-up of offshore wind, green hydrogen production, and its integration into the energy system. The government is contributing 4 million euros through this grant, and the partners are investing approximately 5 million euros in the project. The four-year research project will begin on April 1st, 2022.
The FlexH2 project will create innovations that could significantly reduce the cost of investing in offshore wind transmission infrastructure. The proposed wind-to-hydrogen solution, which will be tested in laboratories at a Medium Voltage kW-scale, allows for direct renewable electricity sourcing for green hydrogen production. It is expected to be scalable and capable of operating independently of a local or national power grid, reducing time-to-market by 5 to 10 years. The integration of the various proposed innovations – ranging from offshore wind turbines to power transport and delivery to an onshore electrolyzer – could reduce the cost of hydrogen production by at least 10% before 2030. The findings of this research project could lay the groundwork for the rapid development of Power-to-H2 projects in the Netherlands.
The electro-technical innovations will be developed by General Electric, ABB, VONK, the Technical University of Eindhoven, and the Technical University of Delft. Shell, Van Oord, TKF, TNO, and DNV will apply their expertise in hydrogen electrolysis, balance of plant, market/flexibility, key component design, transport, and installation, in that order.
