Lhyfe inaugurates its offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator in Saint-Nazaire, France. This is the first time that renewable hydrogen will be produced at sea, according to the company. The “Sealhyfe” platform is starting an 18-month experimental period at quay then off the coast of Le Croisic, on the offshore testing site (SEM-REV) operated by French engineering school Centrale Nantes.
Lhyfe, which says it inaugurated the world’s first site for the production of hydrogen from onshore wind turbines in September 2021, reportedly is convinced of the central role offshore has to play in the massification of renewable green hydrogen production. Producing hydrogen using offshore wind turbines could allow all countries with a coastline to access renewable green hydrogen, produced locally, beyond the horizon line, and in industrial quantities, to decarbonize transportation and industry. The company says it has voluntarily set the bar high by installing its production unit on a floating platform connected to a floating wind turbine.
A six-month trial phase is starting at quay, in the port of Saint-Nazaire, to obtain initial reference measurements and test the systems (e.g. desalination and cooling systems, stack behavior, remote control, energy management, resistance to environmental conditions, etc.), according to the company. Sealhyfe will then spend a period of 12 months off the Atlantic coast. It will be installed less than a kilometer from the floating wind turbine, fixed to the ground by a system of anchors and connected to the site’s underwater hub using an umbilical designed and dedicated for this application (energy and data transfer).
Sealhyfe reportedly has the capacity to produce up to 400 kg of renewable green hydrogen a day, equivalent to 1MW of power. By 2030-2035, offshore could represent an additional installed capacity of around 3 GW for Lhyfe, according to the company. Sealhyfe says it has had support from the French energy and environment agency ADEME and the Pays de la Loire region.
Read the entire press release here.
