During the HyPorts conference, Evolen organised a session on hydrogen production at sea from offshore wind energy. This was an opportunity to have insights from Equinor and Lhyfe.

This session, facilitated by Philippe Muguerra, head of hydrogen projects at Hynamics (EDF Group), provided an opportunity to talk about the existence of a task force within Evolen, which acts as a link with the DGEC (General Directorate for Energy and Climate) and bodies supporting innovation such as CITEPH and CORIMER. Mr Muguerra pointed out that while this type of production is still in its early stages in France, it is much more mature in Northern Europe, where the production of hydrogen at sea is a means of converting facilities used by the oil and gas industry. And these facilities include pipelines to bring the hydrogen ashore.

Equinor: the mastery of gas and wind power

And it was Equinor, Europe’s largest gas supplier, who took the stage first. Alexis Darquin, Head of Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy Projects, spoke of deployments in Scotland and Norway (where the largest floating wind farm has been deployed). Equinor is also involved in hydrogen projects such as North2 in the Netherlands (4 GW by 2030). The Group’s ambition is to have a 10% market share in green hydrogen by 2030.

Lhyfe: from Sealhyfe to HOPE

Then it was over to Lhyfe, through Antoine Decout, in charge of development, to present the Sealhyfe platform. Hydrogen Today has previously covered this platform, which was first tested at dockside in Saint-Nazaire, then off the coast for a few months. The green hydrogen producer intends to scale up with the HOPE project in Belgium. While Lhyfe produces 300 kg a day at Bouin (Vendée) and will be upping this to 2 tonnes a day at the Buléon (Morbihan) and Bessières (Haute-Garonne) sites, it is now looking to produce 4 tonnes a day. The project, which is due to be finished in 2026, is being funded to the tune of €20 million by Europe and €13 million by Belgium. The hydrogen will be transported ashore via a composite pipeline.

Do you want to learn more about Lhyfe? Then our latest articles about the company should interest you.

Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili