A consortium involving Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted A/S has secured U.K. government funding for a green hydrogen project.
The group, led by ITM Power PLC and also including Element Energy Ltd., has won support for its Gigastack feasibility study, as part of the U.K.'s efforts to roll out green hydrogen at scale by the 2030s.
The funding has been secured through the U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's Hydrogen Supply Competition, according to an Aug. 29 Ørsted release.
Over a six-month period, the partners will investigate the development of a new 5-MW stack design that they say will reduce material costs. They will also explore using a number of the 5-MW units to create larger-scale electrolyzer systems of more than 100 MW.
The Gigastack project comprises two phases. In the first phase, or feasibility phase, ITM Power will develop the designs and finalize the material requirements to deliver the 5-MW stacks, while Ørsted will investigate potential synergies between offshore wind farms and electrolyzers. Element Energy will conduct market analysis of potential end users and explore business models for the first 100-MW units.
In the second phase, the 5-MW stack will be built and tested, the construction of a semi-automated manufacturing facility will begin, and the business case for large electrolyzers will be refined, enabling commercialization.
ITM Power in an Aug. 29 release said the project funding is for the feasibility phase and may lead to opportunities to bid for further funding for the actual implementation of the project.
"Using the power of hydrogen could help cut emissions, create jobs and make industrial processes cleaner and greener, benefiting the whole economy as we work towards net zero by 2050," U.K. Climate Change Minister Lord Duncan said.
