Strohm Manager: Reusing existing pipelines for offshore hydrogen is the best solution, but…

Outlook & Strategy

December 22, 2023, by Nadja Skopljak

Reusing existing pipelines for offshore hydrogen is the best solution that can be used, however, this does come with certain challenges, according to Bart Steuten, Product Development Manager at Strohm, Dutch thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) producer.

During Strohm’s presentation at The Stage at this year’s Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC), Steuten discussed the production of hydrogen offshore, what we can expect in the future, the good sides of laying pipes instead of cables, as well as using pipes as storage.

Steuten argues that we will probably have more offshore hydrogen production than we think now and that producing it offshore has a number of advantages, especially from the financing and transportation perspectives.

We will find out that offshore hydrogen production in the end will be cheaper than producing it onshore. It is more efficient, you directly generate hydrogen at the location where the energy is harvested at the wind turbine or solar panel that is floating out there. So we need less energy conversion if you directly convert to hydrogen at sea. So, that’s one aspect. The other aspect is that transportation is much more efficient,” Steuten said.

The questions that always arise with any industry development are those related to costs and financing and the environmental impact. Strohm’s Product Development Manager stated that it is true that laying pipes is cheaper than laying cables, but only because we need less pipes.

Steuten believes that the laying process of laying a cable and the laying process of laying a pipe are fairly identical and the costs are the same, but we need less pipes to be installed than cable. In terms of the damage to the environment, answering the question of whether pipes are better than cables is difficult.

Reusing existing pipelines could be an option, however, a number of points need to be ticked for this to happen.

“[Reusing existing pipelines] is a very good solution if you have a pipeline that is in the area you want and that its integrity is there and it is demonstrated, then it is the best solution that you can use – it is cheap and it is there already, but in the end, the pipes are never at the right location, sometimes they are but generally not the case, but if that works then do it.”

As reported in November, Strohm received DNV qualification for its deepwater TCP flowline, claiming to be the first player to receive accreditation of this kind from the verification body.

Watch the full talk in the video below: