Ørsted has taken final investment decision on the Danish demonstration project H2RES, which will use offshore wind energy to produce renewable hydrogen. (Earlier post.) The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021 and will be Ørsted’s first renewable hydrogen project in operation.

Avedøre Power Station where H2RES will be located.

H2RES will have a capacity of 2 MW. The facility will produce up to around 1,000 kg of renewable hydrogen daily, which will be used to fuel road transport in Greater Copenhagen and on Zealand.

We see renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels as cornerstones in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and H2RES will contribute with key learnings to turn Europe's ambitious build-out targets for renewable hydrogen into a new industrial success story. With the right framework in place that incentivises the shift away from fossil fuels, renewable hydrogen can decarbonise transport and heavy industry, which is paramount to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy.

—Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore

Ørsted has over the past 18 months partnered with different consortia in seven renewable hydrogen projects in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The practically unlimited global offshore wind resources are suited to power renewable hydrogen electrolysis. The H2RES project will investigate how to best combine an electrolyszer with the fluctuating power supply from offshore wind, using Ørsted’s two 3.6 MW offshore wind turbines at Avedøre Holme.

The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) under the Danish Energy Agency has previously awarded DKK 34.6 million (US$5.6 million) for the development of the H2RES project to Ørsted, Everfuel Europe A/S, NEL Hydrogen A/S, Green Hydrogen Systems A/S, DSV Panalpina A/S, Hydrogen Denmark, and Energinet Elsystemansvar A/S.