Can green hydrogen be produced as the primary future of renewable energy?
Creating green, clean hydrogen energy using an offshore oil platform is completely doable. Due to its potential to transform renewable energy around the world, hydrogen energy has recently gained attention due to its use of excess wind energy and existing energy infrastructure.
Hydrogen is a colourless, odourless gas that is a part of a water molecule, is becoming more and more recognized as a fuel that burns cleanly and easily. Its versatility is also noteworthy because it can be stored as a compressed gas or a liquid, making it useful for everything from fertilizers and plastics production to automobile engine power.
How is hydrogen made, why is how it is made important, and how could the gas change the renewable energy industry as we know it?
Production of hydrogen: Hydrogen (H2) is produced in a lot of different ways, and the most common fuels for this are fossil fuels, which require energy to produce. These fossil fuels are used to make the steam that is needed for the reaction with natural gas to make hydrogen (while making a lot of CO2), and they do this by burning a lot of fossil fuels.
Wind power, on the other hand, is being used more and more as part of the overall energy transition because it has proven to be a more effective and sustainable alternative. Production using wind energy does not result in significant CO2 emissions, which is why it is referred to as "green hydrogen." Production using natural gas, which is referred to as "grey hydrogen," does.
Green hydrogen, on the other hand, opens up a whole new world of possibilities for decarbonization, particularly in sectors like transportation where other renewable sources have not yet had a significant impact.
Electrolysers use renewable energy to break down water into oxygen and hydrogen for green hydrogen production. The hydrogen can then be put to use in industrial products or as transportation industry energy.
Schematic for the H2 electrolyzer's production of green hydrogen and power generation:
Green hydrogen's ability to store electricity from renewable sources like wind energy for later use is another unique and significant advantage. How does it function? Energy supply equipment works best and most reliably when creating a steady flow of energy, so when wind energy is overproduced, its supply sources must be slowed down. This is not ideal.
Not only is hydrogen production from wind energy clean, but surplus wind energy can now be used to make hydrogen instead of sitting idle or causing supply sources to slow down. The generated power can be used to produce H2 and stored when demand for energy rises, such as at night, on weekends, during the summer, and on holidays. This makes it possible to store a lot of wind energy for longer periods of time.
As a result, energy systems can become more adaptable, balancing power supply and demand by not producing too much or too little power. The production of green hydrogen also opens up opportunities to utilize existing infrastructure in novel and creative ways. There are numerous innovative projects are attempting novel approaches to green hydrogen production.
In the Netherlands, for instance, a pilot project is in progress to make green hydrogen on a seaward oil stage in the North Ocean — a first in environmentally friendly power. The pilot was started to test the idea that existing offshore infrastructure can be used in new, sustainable ways and to gain experience with hydrogen production on an offshore location.
How does it work? Offshore wind, offshore natural gas, offshore hydrogen gas: The onshore wind farm provides the platform's production energy, allowing it to continue operating as an oil and natural gas producer. A hydrogen electrolyzer has been introduced to the stage, and keeping in mind that it's presently fuelled through green power from land (switching seawater over completely to hydrogen), it will preferably use this equivalent seaward wind energy later on. In preparation for this, power fluctuations will be simulated to investigate the electrolyzer's operation under varying energy levels.
The pilot is a striking illustration of how pre-existing infrastructure can be utilized for more sustainable initiatives by installing a megawatt electrolyser for hydrogen production on an existing offshore oil platform. This opens up new opportunities for offshore platforms worldwide to follow suit and effectively alter the way we use energy.
There is another company that uses pre-existing infrastructure to produce green hydrogen. Their objective is to connect hydrogen supply and demand through five industrial clusters connected to one another, to other nations, and to hydrogen storage facilities by constructing a national hydrogen network in the Netherlands.
It will result in the creation of a versatile energy source that can be easily and cheaply transported, assisting in the integration of various energy systems into one. Its direct connection to hydrogen storage facilities will also bring the supply of electricity generated by wind or solar power in line with market demand.
The most impressive aspect, perhaps, is that 85 percent of the network will be made up of existing infrastructure, making hydrogen transmission affordable, simple to integrate, and accessible quickly.
With Green Hydrogen, the conceivable outcomes are inestimable. Green hydrogen is an incredibly encouraging sustainable power source, and accordingly, we won't quit finding out about it any time soon. There is no doubt that it will play a significant role in the world's transition to renewable energy sources because of the novel opportunities it opens up.
New jobs and a need for new skills come with every expanding industry, but that doesn't mean the right skills don't already exist in many cases. An experienced project team is required to construct hydrogen production, transportation, and storage facilities. It is essential to have project managers, engineers with varying specializations, experts in operations and maintenance, health and safety, regulatory specialists, researchers in research and development, and materials scientists.
The fact that hydrogen must be liquified before it can be transported is very similar to that of natural gas. As a result, the methods used to store it and transport it to where it is needed are also very similar. The skills required to perform these techniques are already available in related industries and are well-established. What organizations will require with regards to dealing with their staffing needs is an accomplice who comprehends the market, how to draw in with and draw in capable people, how to move staff to any country on the planet and make it a smooth cycle.
