The Danish energy company is confident that the project will find green solutions at scale to fight climate change and to secure regional energy independence.
1. Orsted and Skovgaard Energy
Orsted, which is developing the project with Skovgaard Energy, plans for the first phase to have an electrolysis capacity of 150MW and to be powered by onshore wind and solar PV. Yet the pair sees the biggest opportunity lying offshore as they said the project’s eventual electrolysis capacity could reach 3GW “if the necessary offshore wind capacity and hydrogen infrastructure in and out of Denmark are established”. Under this scenario, renewable hydrogen could be exported on a large scale across Europe.
We’ve joined forces with Skovgaard Energy to develop a large-scale Power-to-X facility in Denmark. The plant could play a central role in the start-up of the Danish Power-to-X industry and provide #renewablehydrogen for the #greentransformation of Europe. https://t.co/Ukcelfpi9n
— Ørsted (@Orsted) December 6, 2022
“The facility will be built in several phases, and it can thus play a central role in the start-up of the Danish Power-to-X industry as well as in the establishment of large-scale exports of renewable hydrogen for the green transformation of Europe,” reads the press statement announcing the business venture.
2. Power-to-X
Power-to-X is a technology which converts surplus electricity, usually from renewable sources like wind and solar by using it to produce storable substances or fuels such as hydrogen, methane or synthetic natural gas. Skovgaard has initiated work on the development of both the Power-to-X project and the associated onshore wind and solar PV.
In the absence of regulatory hurdles, Orsted and Skovgaard expect a a fast development of the project. The Power-to-X facility will be located in Idomlund, near Holstebro, in the western part of Denmark, regarded by the partners as an “optimal strategic location enabling significant scaling of the project”.
Few countries have as strong a potential to become a green energy exporter as Denmark due to its abundant and low-cost offshore wind resources, which are supplemented by onshore wind and solar PV.
Anders Nordstrøm, Ørsted’s Chief Operating Officer
The European Commission expects that tens of billions of euros will be invested in Power-to-X towards 2030, as part of EU governments’ efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase their share of renewables in the energy mix.
3. Boosting renewables
If all go as planned, the new project will boost Denmark’s share of renewables and the country can become a net exporter of hydrogen on a large scale while contribute to the green transformation across Europe. Last March, the Danish government pledged to reach a target of 4-6 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030, the equivalent of 2 million tonnes of hydrogen. With the private large-scale project unfolding, the Danish climate targets may benefit from a considerable boost and could make the facility in Idomlund one of the largest in Europe.
“The EU countries around the North Sea have set combined offshore wind targets of 65 GW by 2030 and at least 150 GW by 2050. The project’s proximity to large-scale offshore wind, in which Orsted is the world leader, will allow Ørsted and Skovgaard Energy to leverage their respective generation portfolios to create additional value,” reads the press statement.
