Hydrogen Production from Offshore Wind Power in Sweden

Abstract: The versatile energy carrier hydrogen has the potential to reach otherwise hard-to-abate sectors and is of importance for the energy transition and the full decarbonisation of the energy systems. In the meantime, the offshore wind power is predicted to increase where large amounts of electricity can be produced. Using offshore wind power as an energy supply for water electrolysis enables a large-scale hydrogen production in the future. The aim of this report is to make a techno-economic analysis of hydrogen production from offshore wind power in Sweden. The analysis uses levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) as an indicative measurement for determining cost competitiveness. To achieve the purpose, an extensive literature study is conducted from which a site-specific case study is developed. The case study consists of a hypothetical offshore wind farm in Sweden of 1100 MW connected to a hydrogen production facility where all the generated electricity is dedicated to hydrogen production. Three system configurations related to the placement of the electrolyser is compared: onshore, centralised offshore or decentralised. In addition, three different technologies of water electrolysis: Proton exchange membrane electrolyser (PEM), Solid oxide electrolyser (SOE) and Alkaline electrolyser (AEC) are compared. The intention of the comparisons is to find the most cost competitive and viable scenario. The results of the analysis show the decentralised configuration and AEC electrolyser to be the most cost competitive. The LCOH is determined to 57-98 SEK/kg H2 depending on the combination of electrolyser and configuration.