# Hydrogen Production from Offshore Wind Parks: Current Situation and Future Perspectives
###### Abstract  
With the increase in renewable energy connected to the grid, new challenges arise due to its variable supply of power. Therefore, it is crucial to develop new methods of storing energy. Hydrogen can fulfil the role of energy storage and even act as an energy carrier, since it has a much higher energetic density than batteries and can be easily stored. Considering that the offshore wind sector is facing significant growth and technical advances, hydrogen has the potential to be combined with offshore wind energy to aid in overcoming disadvantages such as the high installation cost of electrical transmission systems and transmission losses. This paper aims to outline and discuss the main features of the integration of hydrogen solutions in offshore wind power and to offer a literature review of the current state of hydrogen production from offshore wind. The paper provides a summary of the technologies involved in hydrogen production along with an analysis of two possible hydrogen producing systems from offshore wind energy. The analysis covers the system components, including hydrogen storage, the system configuration (i.e., offshore vs. onshore electrolyzer), and the potential uses of hydrogen, e.g., Power to Mobility, Power to Power, and Power to Gas. green hydrogen; offshore wind; techno-economic analysis; water electrolysis; grid integration +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
13 May 2021  
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storage solution, where dispatchable fuel cells that run on green hydrogen can produce power when needed without any carbon emissions. Wind power produces roughly 5% of the world's electricity [1], with most installations onshore. However, higher wind speeds and more consistent wind can be found offshore, which leads to higher energy production per turbine installed; the disadvantages are higher cost and technical challenges due to the rough sea conditions to which the equipment is subjected. One of the challenges is transporting the electricity back to shore, since traditional AC power cables have higher capacitance and thus higher losses than overhead lines, and more recent High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems are expensive due to the converter stations necessary at each end of the transmission line. Considering that the transportation of gas in a pipeline suffers much smaller losses (<0.1%) [2,3] than electricity passing through an offshore cable, a case can be made for the production of hydrogen offshore, with pipelines to transport it to shore. From an economic perspective, the cost per unit length of an offshore pipeline is higher than an offshore cable. However, the pipeline's energy transmission capacity is greater than the cable, resulting in lower normalized pipeline capital costs compared to an equivalent offshore electrical cable to transmit the same energy [3]. Two system configurations can be found: the first consists of an offshore wind farm, offshore electrolyzer, and onshore hydrogen storage, while in the second system the electrolyzer is located onshore. A fuel cell can be added in both systems to provide electricity in high-demand periods and act as frequency control for the grid.