PosHydon project nearing first hydrogen production, Neptune Energy says

Business Developments & Projects

December 28, 2023, by Aida Čučuk

Offshore hydrogen project PosHydon is entering its final stage with the first hydrogen expected to be produced in the second half of 2024, René van der Meer, Head of New Energy Development at Neptune Energy, revealed during the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) 2023.

PosHYdon, an initiative of Nexstep, a Dutch association for decommissioning and reuse, and TNO, a Netherlands organization for applied scientific research, in close collaboration with the industry, involves the installation of a hydrogen production plant including a Nel PEM electrolyzer on the Neptune Energy-operated Q13a-A platform, which is a live oil and gas platform.

The pilot aims to integrate three energy systems in the North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas and offshore hydrogen by producing hydrogen from seawater on the Q13-a platform in the Dutch North Sea. Moreover, the aim of the pilot is to gain experience of integrating working energy systems at sea and the production of hydrogen in an offshore environment.

According to Van der Meer, who provided updates on the project at OEEC, PosHydon has secured the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate agreement to amend gas entry specification from 0.02% to 0.5 hydrogen blend and completed integrated hydrogen generation system engineering with all technology partners. Additionally, FATs are said to be completed, as well as HAZOP for HGS integration on the Q13a-A platform.

In regard to the lessons learned from the project, Van der Meer emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement and legal frameworks that can accommodate blended hydrogen.

The project’s next steps include onshore system acceptance tests, Q13a-A modifications, Q13a-A & P15 preparatory activities requiring shutdown and hydrogen production startup, which, as mentioned above, is forecasted for Q3/Q4 2024.

To note, some of the PosHYdon consortium partners are Nel Hydrogen, TNO, Gasunie, NOGAT, DEME Offshore, TAQA and Eneco. Neptune Energy’s partners in the Q13a-A platform are EBN (40%) and TAQA Offshore(10%).

Watch the full session “Neptune Energy – PosHYdon” in the video below: