Subsea Energy Storage

There are significant CO2 emissions from Norwegian oil and gas production. The installations are in areas with large potential for energy from offshore wind. As a contribution to reducing CO2 emission from the Norwegian continental shelf, our partner TechnipFMC is now developing technology for subsea storage of wind energy based on hydrogen.

The idea was launched at an idea lab organised by the Research Council of Norway in June 2016. Four players formed a group and materialised the idea to win the first price at the event. The concept has been named Deep Purple.

Stable Energy Supply

There exists a number of projects concerning drawing energy from offshore wind and deliver to platforms in the North Sea. A major challenge is to deliver energy in periods with little or no wind. The main idea with the project is to produce hydrogen from wind power and store the hydrogen on the seabed. The hydrogen will be converted back to electricity by use of fuel cells and delivered to the platform when there is no wind. This technology can secure stable energy supply regardless of wind conditions.

Multiple Possibilities

Offshore production and storage of hydrogen also opens the market for hydrogen deliveries to the maritime sector. A substantial international effort is now being done to implement hydrogen and fuel cell technology for zero emission propulsion of ships. Batteries can be used for shorter distances, but for larger distances hydrogen is the obvious choice. Storing large quantities of hydrogen in central ports can be a safety hazard. The subsea storage concept offers a solution to this, as hydrogen can be stored on the seabed at hundreds of meters or some kilometres away from the port. The amount of hydrogen on the pier will only involve the amount of hydrogen needed for bunkering each specific ship.

Collaborators

Deep Purple still involves the players that came up with the idea. TechnipFMC collaborates with SINTEF, Subsea Valley and Maritim Forening Sogn og Fjordane developing the concept and new technology further. GCE Subsea is involved via our Subsea Innovator Trond Strømgren who was one of the founders of the project in June 2016 and has his work divided between GCE Subsea and Maritim Forening Sogn og Fjordane. The Research Council of Norway has provided funding for the Deep Purple project.

Project Manager Marit Mork from TechnipFMC will present the project at our Marine Renewable Energy and Maritime Hydrogen Technology conference in Florø, Norway October 3 – 4. This will be the first public presentation of Deep Purple.