Supported by Norway-based BW Offshore and Dutch Oceans Capital, Rotterdam-based SwitcH2 is developing industrial-scale offshore green hydrogen and green ammonia production units based on FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading) technologies.
Supported by grant funding from the Dutch Government’s GroenvermogenNL TSE (Top Sector Energie) scheme, SwitcH2 aims to launch a new open-sea project in northern Portugal utilising CorPower Ocean’s wave energy technology, plus wind and solar. CorPower Ocean’s wave energy converters turn wave motion into rotation, which is converted into electricity by generators inside a buoy.
SwitcH2 said its NH3-FPSO unit will use a vessel nearly the size of a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier), to support a 300MW electrolysis plant on deck. The produced green ammonia will be temporarily stored in pressurised tanks in the vessel and then exported to shore via shuttle carriers. The floating facility is expected to reach an annual production capacity of almost 300kton of green ammonia when operational from 2029.
In a statement, SwitcH2 director and co-founder Saskia Kunst said: “We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with CorPower Ocean as integrating their promising wave energy adds economic benefits to our already competitive offshore production system. Jointly we look at a buoyant market for green ammonia which is set to expand six-fold between now and 2050. Our project will contribute to decarbonise also hard to abate sectors such as global shipping.”
CorPower Ocean commercial director Kevin Rebenius said: “Wave energy is one of the largest untapped energy source in the world. It’s renewable, accessible, and abundant. Crucially, it’s also highly consistent bringing greater stability to the clean energy mix, enabling 24/7 renewable electricity supply allowing industrial processes like this to run at high utilisation. We look forward to working with fellow tech pioneer SwitcH2 with a shared vision for a cleaner, brighter future powered by renewables.”
SwitcH2 is expanding its portfolio beyond its initial project in Portugal, including plans in West Africa focused on ammonia export for markets in north west Europe, and projects in the Dutch sector of the North Sea aimed at hydrogen export.
“A floating production system is by definition a mobile asset which we will build where this is cheapest and which can be deployed around the globe, wherever we have access to attractively priced wind, wave, and/or solar energy,” said Kunst.
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