H2Mare, a project focused on researching the offshore production of green hydrogen and other power-to-X (PtX) products from wind energy, has launched a floating test platform to demonstrate a complete PtX process chain for sustainable fuels in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Developed by the project partners Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Technical University of Berlin, the 60×15 meter test platform will be used to produce e-fuels from green hydrogen using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis under real conditions on the high seas.
The platform was commissioned after seven months of construction on July 8 to host research that will provide insights for the development of large-scale PtX facilities.
Initially, the platform will be tested in the port of Bremerhaven, and then on the open sea off Helgoland.
As explained, the platform will demonstrate a PtX synthesis route, with the first step involving the generation of green hydrogen, which is then processed with desalinated seawater and CO2. The platform is equipped with its own direct air capture system to extract CO2 from ambient air, a seawater desalination plant, and a high-temperature electrolysis system for producing synthesis gas.
The synthesis gas serves as the starting material for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, in which green hydrogen and CO2 are converted into e-fuels. The design enables dynamic, grid-independent operation of the entire process chain, adapted to the availability of renewable electricity from offshore wind power.
In addition to the flexible operation of the entire process chain, the project also considers maritime influences, material properties, and regulatory conditions.
Knowledge gained from operating without a connection to the electricity grid with fluctuating renewable energies will serve as the basis for developing larger production platforms that can be coupled with wind turbines. Tests results are expected by the end of 2025.
Alongside the offshore generation of e-fuels, the H2Mare PtX-Wind project is researching alternative PtX synthesis routes. The production of liquid methane will soon be tested at the KIT Energy Lab in Karlsruhe. The synthesis of methanol and ammonia is also being analysed at a conceptual level.
H2Mare is one of three hydrogen flagship projects of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, expected to contribute to the implementation of the German National Hydrogen Strategy.