From Vision to Reality: Innovation Project Brings New Insights on Energy Islands

In the Offshore Energy Hubs innovation project, a team of researchers and companies from the energy industry will explore how future offshore energy hubs can be constructed to be both reliable and cost-effective. Project partners will focus on system design and efficient integration of Power-to-X.

How do we ensure green electricity for Northern Europeans in the future? The political answer includes future offshore energy hubs – also known as energy islands – in the North and Baltic Seas, which will serve as hubs for green electricity from offshore wind turbines for millions of households.

The plan for these future hubs involves both artificial island constructions at sea and increased integration of green electricity from offshore wind turbines into existing environments, such as Bornholm.

In the new innovation project Offshore Energy Hubs, DTU, Aalborg University, Ørsted, and several other industrial partners will develop technologies to make future hubs cost-effective and reliable, says Nicolaos A. Cutululis, professor at DTU Wind and Energy Systems.

"In Denmark, we have had visions of becoming CO2-neutral, and with the decision to establish energy hubs, we are showing the way to the CO2-neutral goal. It is fundamentally important that they are constructed successfully, cost-effectively, and stably," says Nicolaos A. Cutululis.

According to him, there are three elements in the innovation project: ensuring the safe operation of the electrical system, reducing the cost of offshore wind farms that will deliver green electricity, and integrating green hydrogen production – known as Power-to-X – as a stabilizing factor for grid connection.

"We will look at how we can ensure robust operation of the electrical system developed for the new hubs, as it will be a completely new energy system with unique and challenging characteristics," says Nicolaos A. Cutululis.

Great Potential

In addition to DTU, which leads Offshore Energy Hubs, project partners include Ørsted, Energy Cluster Denmark, Green Hydrogen Systems, Aalborg University, PowerLabDK, Siemens Gamesa, Hellenic Cables, and Supergrid Institute.

The project's partners are initially looking at energy hubs around Denmark, but the technology developed in the project could eventually be used elsewhere in Europe and in the global market for energy solutions, benefiting the industrial partners' business.

"This is an important part of the shift from black to green energy. We believe that Offshore Energy Hubs will be one of the keys to harnessing green energy from offshore wind farms, allowing you to connect energy from sea to land," explains Troels Stybe Sørensen, Senior Director at Ørsted.

According to Poul Alberg Østergaard, professor at Aalborg University, Offshore Energy Hubs is fundamentally about how best to utilize future green electricity, which will largely come from offshore production.

"When you move energy production offshore, it creates a number of new opportunities. You have easier access to shipping and wind energy resources. There is great potential in many places around the world for this solution," says Poul Alberg Østergaard.

Facts

Offshore Energy Hubs is supported by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) and has a total budget of DKK 39 million. The project runs from September 2022 to August 2026.

Questions about the project can be directed to: Nicolaos A. Cutululis, DTU Wind and Energy Systems: +45 21 32 49 65 / niac@dtu.dk