Orsted, Air Liquide add to European hydrogen momentum

Two new European hydrogen projects moved a step forward today, the latest in a string of investments in an fast-evolving sector.

Danish utility Orsted said it has taken a final investment decision (FID) on a 2MW capacity project that will utilise offshore wind power, making it a 'green' hydrogen venture. French industrial gas firm Air Liquide said that it will buy a 40pc stake in H2V Normandy, which plans to build a proposed 200MW facility near Le Havre, northern France. The plant, located near ExxonMobil's 233,000 b/d Port Jerome refinery, will produce renewable and low-carbon hydrogen.

Orsted said that production from its facility will be used to fuel road transport. The French project's hydrogen will be used to decarbonise the extensive surrounding refining and chemical activities.

Hydrogen is defined by its production process. Green hydrogen is derived from electrolysis using electricity produced from renewable sources, grey hydrogen is derived from fossil fuels, and blue hydrogen relies on carbon capture and storage to mitigate the bulk of emissions. The EU wants 14pc of transport fuels to come from renewable sources by 2030, and is targeting the installation of 40GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers over the same timeframe, up from around 1GW now.

This has prompted a recent wave of investment around Europe, often from oil companies like BP and Shell that have set net zero targets. Both are working on green hydrogen projects at refineries in Germany — the former at Lingen in partnership with Orsted, and the latter with UK electrolyser specialist ITM Power at its Rheinland facility. Shell is also working with Norway's state-controlled Equinor and German utility RWE on the giant NortH2 wind-to-hydrogen project in the Netherlands, which aims to bring 1GW of offshore wind capacity on line by 2027 to produce green hydrogen. In Italy, Eni and Enel have joined forces to supply green hydrogen by 2022-23 to two Eni refineries that currently use grey hydrogen.

Already this year, Total and French utility Engie have said that they will jointly develop a 40MW hydrogen production unit at the former's La Mede hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) plant in southeast France, Indian-owned refiner Essar Oil has set up a venture to produce low-carbon hydrogen at its 204,000 b/d Stanlow refinery in the UK, and Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall and refinery firm Preem are investigating the use of hydrogen in large-scale biofuel production at the Lysekil refinery in southern Sweden.

By Ben Winkley