Sustainable dispatchable Energy enabled by wAve-Wind OffshoRe plaTforms with onboard Hydrogen

Introduction

SEAWORTHY is a commercial-scale demonstration of a first-of-a-kind technology that is capable of supplying clean dispatchable offshore power from wind, waves, and hydrogen (H2). The project will pave the way for the commercial roll-out of this technology, which will revolutionise the offshore Power-to-X market by providing clean and cost-effective dispatchable power to offshore, off-grid, and coastal weak-grid applications (e.g. islands), which currently rely on fossil fuels.

Technology Overview

This demonstrator technology, P-Demo, integrates:

1. A 4.3 megawatt (MW) Wind Turbine Generator (WTG)
2. A 0.8 MW Wave Energy Converter (WEC) system
3. A H2 system consisting of:
   • A 1 MW electrolyser
   • 48 MWh of energy storage
   • A 1.2 MW fuel cell

P-Demo will be the world’s first wind-wave-H2 unit and it will be deployed in PLOCAN’s test site in Spain. It will deliver 11.05 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of renewable electricity to the grid, avoiding a total of 25,557 tonnes of CO2 equivalent during its first 10 years of operation, with a 100% relative greenhouse gas (GHG) emission avoidance.

Innovative Features

These key innovative features of the project allow for:

• Maximised uptake of wind and wave resources
• Increased power quality
• Enhanced output capacity per unit
• Improved output consistency over time

At the same time, the project integrates H2 production systems, including electrolysers, a higher energy storage capacity (up to 300 MWh), and fuel cells, for the provision of truly dispatchable renewable power.

Economic Benefits

These features, in turn, minimise the total investment per megawatt through:

• Shared infrastructure (mooring, platform, and grid infrastructure) for the three technologies in a single unit
• Manufacturing materials and techniques from the shipbuilding value chain that enable scaled series production and economies of scale

Policy Alignment

In terms of policy priorities, the technology contributes directly to:

• The EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy
• Longer-term climate neutrality objectives

Moreover, REPowerEU recognizes that energy storage plays a key role in ending external dependence on fossil fuels by ensuring security of supply and supporting renewables integration.

Social Impact

Furthermore, the technological design allows a variety of manufacturing and assembly options, easing the use of different facility types and a distributed European supply chain. From a social perspective, this provides opportunities for a high degree of local content and job creation, even in geographical areas lacking a strong marine industry and where a suitable value chain can scale gradually.