Lhyfe has unveiled the world’s first offshore renewable green hydrogen production prototype. The 18-month wind-powered pilot in Saint-Nazaire, France, will operate close to the shore for the first six months before being relocated 20 km off of Le Croisic. The floating wind turbine will be deployed less than 1 km from the project. Seawater will be pumped, desalinated, and purified using wind energy. The platform, developed by Geps Techno, will operate automatically. Plug Power supplied the electrolyzer. The company collaborated on the project with Chantiers de L’Atlantique, the Port of Saint-Nazaire, Kraken Subsea Solutions, Pays de la Loire Region, and French energy and environment agency ADEME.
On the other hand, SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall have commissioned the HYBRIT pilot facility, which will store fossil-free hydrogen gas in Luleå, Sweden. After conducting preliminary water pressure tests in June 2022, the 100 cubic metre storage unit was filled with hydrogen gas and brought to its maximum operating pressure of 250 bar. Up to 2024, test campaigns will be run over the two-year test period to collect data.
Both the EU and the US have reported advancements in governmental initiatives to encourage hydrogen. The US Department of Energy (DoE) has begun accepting applications for a $7 billion programme to establish regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) across the country. The $8 billion Hydrogen Hub Program, sponsored by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, includes the project. Meanwhile, the European Commission has authorised a second Important Project of Common European Interest to boost hydrogen value chain research, industry deployment, and infrastructure construction.
