Ørsted has taken the final investment decision on the H2RES demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen, Denmark, which will combine offshore wind with hydrogen production.

The H2RES project will investigate how to best combine an electrolyser with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Ørsted’s two 3.6MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme. It will have a capacity of 2MW and produce up to around 1,000kg of 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 chief executive of Ørsted Offshore, said: “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.”

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. It says “practically unlimited” global offshore wind resources are ideally suited to power renewable hydrogen electrolysis.

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.