Hydrogen will become an essential element for making industry, transport and a balanced sustainable energy system more sustainable. This clean energy carrier can and will also be produced close to renewable energy sources at sea to enable further roll-out of offshore wind after 2030 and integration into the energy system. To realize the ambitions for offshore production of the green energy carrier, TKI Wind op Zee, TNO and DOB Academy, with the support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, are launching the knowledge platform HEROW. This initiative focuses on developing and sharing the necessary knowledge and capacity to generate hydrogen at sea using sustainable energy and to transport it to end users.
During a first meeting at the beginning of December in De Oude Bibliotheek in Delft, a wide range of stakeholders was invited for an initial knowledge session. This informal kick-off was the stage for sharing experiences of the PosHYdon and H2OpZee projects and for those present to hear more about the developments within North Sea Wind Power Hub and the policy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. And of course to hear more about HEROW's goals and ambitions.
Bob Meijer, director of TKI Wind op Zee, kicks off the launch of HEROW
Three pillars
HEROW is based on three pillars.
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It is a network where knowledge about the offshore production of hydrogen is shared. Developers of pilots share experiences and results, knowledge programs come up with new ideas and concepts. Knowledge of international initiatives is also shared with the aim of accelerating upscaling.
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The entire chain of parties is involved in this network via innovation challenges to solve issues. Startups and knowledge developers are challenged to come up with new innovations for the challenges facing the industry.
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By developing teaching materials and training, HEROW ensures the dissemination of knowledge. This also includes the 'Teach the teacher' principle. Educational institutions receive free teaching materials and teachers are trained on how to use them. This last pillar is aimed at having the right knowledge and number of people to realize the Dutch ambitions for offshore hydrogen.
Role hydrogen
Jan van der Tempel of DOB Academy explains the training and teaching program for offshore hydrogen.
Hydrogen is seen as an important component in the sustainable energy system of the future. Hydrogen generated with sustainable energy, so-called green hydrogen, is an important clean energy carrier for making industry, shipping and (heavy) transport more sustainable. Electrification is often not suitable for making refining processes, steel production or seagoing vessels more sustainable, for example. With electrification, the required temperatures are not achievable and batteries make ships too heavy to stay afloat. Hydrogen is also needed as a raw material in chemistry. Hydrogen production at sea, from sustainable energy sources such as wind farms, will play an important role in the energy mix.
Want to know more or participate?
HEROW is an open platform and requires registration. Would you like to participate in HEROW? Interested parties can register here.
Would you like to know more about the production of hydrogen at sea or innovations for the energy transition? Contact TKI Wind op Zee, part of the Top Sector Energy.
All images courtesy of DOB Academy.