ABS publishes offshore hydrogen production whitepaper

Green hydrogen production does not require fossil fuels, but instead uses power from renewable energy sources such as offshore wind turbines to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The ABS Whitepaper: Offshore Production of Green Hydrogen explores the conditions driving the marine and offshore industries toward the adoption and production of green hydrogen, the technologies that make green hydrogen production feasible, and how those technologies can be incorporated into an offshore facility.

A market analysis performed in April 2021 by the Energy Transitions Commission estimates that the demand for hydrogen is expected to increase at a rate of seven to nine percent per year. This would lead to an estimated demand of between 500 and 800 million tons of hydrogen by 2050, which would fulfill between 15 and 20% of the global energy demand. To reach a production level of 500 million tons of hydrogen, there will need to be 3,000 to 6,000GW of newly installed renewable energy sources devoted to hydrogen production.

ABS is working with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) to jointly develop technical guidance for green hydrogen production from offshore platforms. It is a key first step to the design and construction of a facility by 2025. The guidance aims to facilitate the development of production facilities.

A copy of the whitepaper is available here.