Lhyfe starts producing hydrogen offshore
Today is a splendorous day for the green hydrogen producer. While it welcomed BMW to Bouin (Vendée, France) to test the iX5 Hydrogen, Lhyfe presented its hydrogen offshore production pilot platform off Saint-Nazaire. We will tell you all about this project called Sealhyfe.
The trials began at the dock (see our article) and lasted 8 months. However, the platform was successfully towed some 20km off the Atlantic coast and connected to the Centrale Nantes electricity hub. Since 20 June, it has been producing its first kilos of hydrogen at sea. This is a decisive step not only for the company founded by Matthieu Guesné, but also for the whole hydrogen industry.
Extreme conditions
By launching the world’s first hydrogen offshore production pilot, Lhyfe wanted to demonstrate the technical feasibility of such a project. The company has also deliberately chosen to subject Sealhyfe to the most extreme conditions. These real-life tests are being carried out on a floating platform, redesigned to stabilise the production unit at sea. Lhyfe and its partners* designed, built and put together all the equipment needed to produce hydrogen offshore, including the 1 MW electrolyser supplied by Plug Power. The entire project was completed in barely 16 months, on a platform measuring less than 200 m². Sealhyfe has a production capacity of up to 400 kg/day.
This is a world first.
*(WAVEGEM platform, developed by GEPS Techno) and connected to the hub of the SEM-REV sea trials site and operated by the OPEN-C foundation, to which a floating wind turbine (FLOATGEN, developed and operated by BW Ideol) is already connected.
Towards a European offshore production of hydrogen?
The next step is the HOPE project (Hydrogen Offshore Production for Europe), coordinated by Lhyfe as part of a consortium of 9 partners**, and selected by the European Commission as part of the “Clean Hydrogen Partnership”. It has been awarded a €20 million grant (about $21.5 million). This represents a complete change of scale. From 2026, the aim will be to roll a project out on an unprecedented scale (10 MW). In concrete terms, this will make possible to produce up to 4 tonnes/day of green hydrogen at sea. This green and marine hydrogen will then be exported to land by pipeline, where it will be compressed and distributed to customers.
**Alfa Laval (Denmark), Plug (Netherlands), Strohm (Netherlands), EDP NEW (Portugal), ERM (France), CEA (France), POM West-Vlaanderen (Belgium), DWR eco (Germany).
Do you want to know more about Lhyfe? Then our latest article on the group should interest you. You can read it here.
Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King
