Offshore Energy Hubs

The project

The decision to build the world’s first offshore energy islands/hubs is a cornerstone in reaching Denmark’s climate targets and a beginning of a new era for green Danish technology export.

The Offshore Energy Hubs project is part of that goal.

The innovation project will deliver tools, methods, and technologies to future-proof energy hubs with respect to the critical challenges of system stability and cost-efficiency.

The innovation project, funded by Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP), will develop technical solutions that address several aspects related to offshore energy hubs:

• Solutions enhancing operational stability and thereby security of the energy supply
• Improving cost-efficiency in the design of wind power plants
• Hub-optimized offshore Power-to-X

Climate goals
By 2030 the Danish CO2 emissions must be reduced to 70% of the 1990 level, with half of the reduction to be realized in the current decade. By 2050 the target is climate neutrality. These ambitious targets must be achieved through implementation of a range of different measures (electrification of industry, green fuels by Power-to-X and more.

To provide the needed energy for implementation of such measures, the Danish government mandated the construction of the world’s two first Energy Islands (or Offshore Energy Hubs) in 2021, one on the island of Bornholm (2 GW) and one in the North Sea (3 GW with later expansion to 10 GW)

The partners in the Offshore Energy Hubs project are contributing to that – practically by:  

• Development of an analysis toolbox with a suite of methods, models and datasets for secure and optimal design of the extreme converter-isolated, zero/low-inertia, hybrid AC/HVDC electric infrastructure of OEHs with respect to operational stability, control, and fault management.
• Development of a cost-efficient re-design of island-connected wind power plants (WPPs) by shifting the grid code requirements from WPPs to the central OEH structure, while maintaining the same level of operational security.
• Making offshore electrolysis at-island and at-wind turbine economically viable by developing OEH-optimized hydrogen technologies in form of stabilizing grid-services from electrolysis plants, higher pressure electrolyzes plants reducing/avoiding the need for dedicated offshore compressors, and new combined hydrogen/power transmission cable technology.

The project has a total budget of DKK 39 million and runs from September 2022 to August 2026.

The Offshore Energy Hub project is funded by The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP).

Every year, the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) funds work by enterprises and universities on demonstration of new green energy technologies.

This takes place in a number of promising projects, all of which support Denmark’s goal of a 70% carbon reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.

Since its establishment in 2007, the EUDP has supported more than 1,200 innovative projects with about DKK 6.2 bil. The objective is to help maintain a high security of supply and to reduce CO₂ emissions; an objective that goes hand in hand with increased growth and employment in Denmark.

Visit www.eudp.dk for more information

This project is supported by EUDP