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The 200MW Salamander project, developed by Irish company Simply Blue Energy in partnership with London-headquartered Subsea 7, has signed a memorandum of understanding with international firm ERM for the potential use of its Dolphyn hydrogen technology.
ERM Dolphyn combines electrolysis, desalination and hydrogen production on a floating wind platform, with hydrogen transported to shore via pipeline. The technology is “economic and scalable”, a Salamander announcement said, with no carbon emissions at the point of use.
The project, which will install turbines off the coast of Aberdeenshire, is also working closely with Scotland Gas Networks to potentially integrate into future 100% hydrogen infrastructure, or as a blend with existing gas infrastructure.
Salamander project director Adrian de Andres said: “Considering the rapidly approaching 2030 deadline for the floating wind and green hydrogen targets, we now think the Salamander project could act not only as a stepping stone for floating wind, but also potentially for green hydrogen production, paving the way for multi-GW green hydrogen developments in the 2030s.”
Prior to the Salamander project, ERM aims to demonstrate a 10MW project, which would produce green hydrogen offshore. The Salamander project and ERM will engage in further engineering work in the coming months to assess the potential deployment of ERM Dolphyn within the Salamander project.
Emma Harrick, energy transition and supply chain manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “Scotland has an ambition to increase the amount of offshore wind in its waters tenfold by 2030, with the ongoing ScotWind Leasing process likely to provide the lion’s share of that capacity.
“However, supply chain organisations need the time to prepare and to improve their competitiveness for large-scale commercial deployments, and smaller offshore projects like Salamander can provide a useful stepping-stone for suppliers hoping to upskill, learn and invest, with the aim of benefiting from the multi-billion pound opportunity of global decarbonisation.”
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