North Sea Energy extended: further hydrogen research
The Wind Meets Gas symposium, which will be held on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 October in the Martinikerk in Groningen, will see the kick off of the North Sea Energy programme on the future energy system of the North Sea.
This program, entitled “North Sea Energy 3(NSE 3) will be implemented as a collaboration of 25 partners, consisting of various gas and wind operators active in the North Sea and suppliers from the maritime sector. The program aims to optimize the synergies between existing energy production in the North Sea and future offshore wind farms. It will focus on the development of an offshore electricity grid, the use of old gas fields for CO2 storage, and the offshore production of hydrogen to efficiently transport energy from wind farms to the mainland via existing infrastructure. The program includes work on a North Sea energy atlas, and in this phase, technical and economic analyses will be conducted on the use of hydrogen for energy transport, conversion, and offshore storage in particular. The research should lead to a robust energy policy for the Dutch government regarding the North Sea as a sustainable energy source for the period 2023-2030.
Building on previous studies
By building on the various existing studies on the integration of energy systems in the North Sea, including NSE 1 and NSE 2, the aim is to prevent the implementation of suboptimal partial solutions. By doing so, the goal is to optimally develop the North Sea as a major energy hub. While NSE 1 focused on electrifying platforms via wind farms, and NSE 2 continued this on specific North Sea platforms, NSE 3 will primarily investigate the use of hydrogen to transport energy from wind farms and balance the energy system. The program will also investigate the interaction with other functions in the North Sea and the spatial integration of new applications such as CO2 storage and hydrogen production and storage. Furthermore, the transition from platform solutions to energy islands will be examined as these applications scale up.
North Sea as energy hub
At the same time, the North Sea Energy program is being further developed into a national mission-driven innovation program focused on the long-term development of the North Sea as a sustainable energy source for the Netherlands, in collaboration with other North Sea countries, coastal provinces, and port industrial clusters.
About North Sea Energy
The North Sea plays a crucial role in achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the transition to a safe and sustainable energy system. By combining multiple energy functions in an integrated approach, the North Sea Energy (NSE) programme aims to leverage synergies and develop new concepts for offshore system integration in the North Sea. This will contribute to accelerating an affordable European energy transition with optimal value for both society and nature.
