At a panel session during the World Hydrogen Summit, Edwin van Drunen, Managing Director of H2SEA, offered insights on the economic viability of offshore hydrogen initiatives.
As a distinguished panelist at the HEROW side event, Edwin shared H2SEA’s research insights on the scalability of offshore hydrogen projects.
Joining H2SEA on the panel were representatives from prominent organizations such as Shell, RWE, Eneco, and TNO, the latter also serving as the co-organizer of the HEROW event. HEROW, an acronym for Hydrogen Empowering Revolutionary Offshore Wind, convened industry leaders to explore advancements in offshore hydrogen technologies.
Edwin van Drunen, MD of H2SEA, was interviewed on Dutch television for the program Building the Future about the possibilities of hydrogen and how this can play an important part in the Energy Transition.
In co-operation with Delft University of Technology, H2SEA has carried out a structural assessment of monopile-based support structures for offshore hydrogen WTG’s (Wind Turbine Generators).
One of the main questions during the assessment was if decentral hydrogen production on a monopile-based support structure of an offshore wind turbine would be structurally feasible.
The goal of the research was to define the differences in support structure geometry and assess the changes in the design methodology of an offshore wind turbine support structure, including a decentralized hydrogen production platform. Looking into future developments, a 15 MW reference turbine was selected for a water depth of 45 m in the F3 sector of the North Sea.
H2SEA carries out assessment on monopiles for H2 WTG
To obtain platform mass, dimensions, and rotational inertia, all required systems were selected, listed and an optimised platform layout and mass estimation were made. For the design of the platform support beams, gravitational loads and extreme wind gust loads were taken into account. The selection of the support structure concept was performed using a multi-criteria analysis.
For fatigue assessment, an analytical fully dynamical model was constructed in Maple. The structure was simulated by the equations of motions, including airy wave force, rotor damping, topside and platform mass and rotational inertia, embedded length, and homogeneous soil stiffness. The Maple model was used to simulate dynamic behavior of both structures, determine first and second natural frequency, and present displacements and overturning moments in these two mode shapes.
Finally, a fatigue damage calculation including 500 combinations of wave height and period is performed, for a 25-year lifetime.
If you are considering decentral hydrogen production at sea, please contact us and we will be glad to help you with smart and well thought-out designs.
