Ørsted moves ahead with H2RES

Ørsted has made a final investment decision on the H2RES renewable hydrogen demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen.

It marks the energy group's first renewable hydrogen project and new era in the company’s green journey, with offshore wind harnessed to decarbonise society beyond direct electrification, offering a path to zero emissions.

The HSRES facility will have a capacity of 2MW and produce up to around 1,000kgs of renewable hydrogen daily, which will be used to fuel road transport in Greater Copenhagen and on Zealand. The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021.

"We see renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels as cornerstones in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and H2RES will contribute with key learnings to turn Europe's ambitious build-out targets for renewable hydrogen into a new industrial success story," said Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore.

"With the right framework in place that incentivises the shift away from fossil fuels, renewable hydrogen can decarbonise transport and heavy industry, which is paramount to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy."

Over the past 18 months, Ørsted has partnered with different consortia in seven renewable hydrogen projects in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The practically unlimited global offshore wind resources are ideally suited to power renewable hydrogen electrolysis. The H2RES project will investigate how to best combine an electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Ørsted's two 3.6 MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme.

"Renewable hydrogen will be a cornerstone in achieving Denmark's ambitious decarbonisation target. H2RES is an example of how public co-funding coupled with a committed hydrogen industry and ambitious offtakers can drive the decarbonisation of the transport sector," addsd Anders Nordstrøm, Vice President and Head of Ørsted's hydrogen activities.

"H2RES is a small but important step towards large-scale renewable hydrogen production, and it will allow us to demonstrate how offshore wind combined with onshore electrolysis can offer decarbonisation beyond direct electrification." 

The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP), under the Danish Energy Agency, has previously awarded £4.13 million for the development of the H2RES project to Ørsted, Everfuel Europe A/S, NEL Hydrogen A/S, Green Hydrogen Systems A/S, DSV Panalpina A/S, Hydrogen Denmark, and Energinet Elsystemansvar A/S.

Ørsted’s Hornsea Three wind project off the coast of Britain was granted development consent at the end of December.