Ørsted takes final investment decision on first renewable hydrogen project

Ørsted has decided to take final investment decision on the H2RES renewable hydrogen demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen, Denmark. H2RES will be Ørsted's first renewable hydrogen project in operation and marks a new era in Ørsted's green journey, where the power of offshore wind will be harnessed to decarbonise society beyond direct electrification, offering a path towards zero emissions for otherwise hard to abate sectors.

H2RES will have a capacity of 2 MW. The facility will produce up to around 1,000 kg 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.

Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore, says: "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. 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."

Ørsted has over the past 18 months 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.

Anders Nordstrøm, Vice President and Head of Ørsted's hydrogen activities, says: "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. 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 DKK 34.6 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.