Green hydrogen jackup rig production concept unveiled
Offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has joined forces with UK-based engineering company Aquaterra Energy and renewable hydrogen producer and supplier Lhyfe to develop a new concept for offshore green hydrogen production in the North Sea.
The organisations behind Project Haldane will develop an industrial-scale offshore green hydrogen production concept, through the deployment of an electrolyser system on a converted jackup rig.
Partners claim the concept could solve challenges around grid connectivity and intermittency of supply in the North Sea by providing an offtake for the electricity produced near the wind farm. The solution would use existing platforms, pipelines, terminal infrastructure, and offshore equipment, leveraging the existing infrastructure to reduce costs.
“With our expertise in complex offshore operations and fleet management, Borr Drilling will leverage its core capabilities to evaluate the adoption of this alternative energy source in an environment with a large untapped potential. While we will continue to work in our traditional drilling market, this project reinforces our ambition to continuously improve the sustainability of our activities and align our service offering with the changing expectations of our customers and stakeholders.” said Darren Sutherland, director of operations at Borr Drilling.
While the concept is still in its early stages, the consortium has asked any interested parties to submit enquiries.
“[W]ill develop an industrial scale offshore green hydrogen production concept, through the deployment of an electrolyser system on a converted jack-up rig. * * * This unique, flexible solution will solve this issue by providing an off take for the electricity produced in the immediate vicinity of the windfarm and aims to use existing platforms, pipelines, terminal infrastructure, and offshore equipment leveraging the existing infrastructure to reduce costs.”
Smart. Very smart.