OX2, Ingka Investments apply for Swedish offshore energy hub construction permit

Stockholm-based renewable energy developer OX2 and IKEA owner Ingka Investments have submitted a permit application to construct the offshore energy hub Neptunus off the coast of Blekinge, in the south of Sweden.

The energy hub Neptunus will comprise up to 207 wind turbines with a maximum height of 420 metres and will be situated about 50 kilometres from the coast. The application encompasses a total installed capacity of 3.1 GW. The production is estimated to be around 13-15 TWh annually, which corresponds to the current total electricity consumption of the Blekinge and Skåne regions.

Besides offshore wind power, OX2 and Ingka Investments have also applied for offshore hydrogen production of a maximum of 370,000 tonnes annually, as well as a pilot project to oxygenate the Baltic Sea.

Oxygen is a byproduct of hydrogen production and can be used to oxygenate the Baltic Sea, thereby contributing to restoring marine life in an area with oxygen deficiency.

OX2 announced initial plans for the hub in March last year. At the time, the plans had a much smaller estimated capacity of 1.9 GW and a smaller hydrogen production number of up to 225,000 tons. The company previously applied for a Natura 2000 permit for the energy hub. If permits are obtained, construction can start in 2030.

The project is in an early development phase and the announced 1.9 GW is included in OX2’s project development portfolio, which by the end of the third quarter of 2023 amounted to around 34.1 GW.

“The energy hub Neptunus is one of the first of the next generation of wind farms. By producing renewable energy and hydrogen, Sweden will be able to secure energy for sectors that can’t be electrified,” said Emelie Zakrisson, head of offshore wind development in Sweden at OX2.

OX2 and Ingka Investments are developing six offshore wind farms in Sweden – Galene on the west coast, Triton and Neptunus in the south of Sweden, Aurora between the islands of Öland and Gotland, and Pleione and Ran off the east coast of Gotland.

Ingka Investments entered the Pleione and Neptunus projects by buying a 49% stake from OX2 in late November 2023 for $22.2m. Following successful permitting, OX2 will receive a pre-agreed deferred consideration of around $67,400 per MW for 49% of the planned capacity.