CIP Unveils Plans for Offshore Wind-to-Green Hydrogen Energy Islands in Germany and Denmark

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has unveiled plans to build an artificial island dedicated to large-scale production of green hydrogen from offshore wind in Denmark and has entered an agreement with Allianz Investment Management (AIM) to perform a feasibility study for a similar project in Germany.

In Denmark, CIP is proposing to build an island called BrintØ, which is planned to be established on the Danish part of Dogger Bank, an area expected to become a central hub for the future build-out of offshore energy infrastructure in the North Sea, according to CIP.

The island would be connected to 10 GW of offshore wind, which would be used primarily to produce green hydrogen via Power- to-X, and is planned to be in production by 2030.

BrintØ would be able to produce around 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year when fully built out, which corresponds to approximately 7 per cent of the EU’s expected hydrogen consumption in 2030, according to CIP.

“BrintØ – and over time other adjacent energy islands – will produce very large amounts of green hydrogen from offshore wind for export to nearby countries, e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. BrintØ will thus create a foundation for the production of sustainable green fuels via Power-to-X for trucks, ships and aircrafts”, CIP said in a press release on 20 May.

On 19 May, CIP and Allianz Investment Management (AIM) announced that they would conduct a feasibility study for an artificial energy island in the German North Sea, which would be connected to large-scale offshore wind farms.

“The power and Green Hydrogen from energy islands will be connected to the public grids in Germany to provide a sizeable contribution to domestic energy production and security of supply”, CIP and AIM said in a press release on 19 May.

Energy islands create an onshore environment at an offshore location which makes it possible to cost-effectively build electrical infrastructure and produce green hydrogen offshore, the two partners pointed out.

Both the plan for the energy island in Denmark and the feasibility study in Germany come as a response to the announcements made by the German government on an accelerated green transition and the declaration from 18 May signed by the Ministers of Energy of Germany, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“If targets set for the green energy transition are to be achieved, the concept of energy islands is one of the most effective ways to ensure speed, volume and the production of renewables on a large-scale that can be integrated into existing energy grids“, CIP said.

CIP, which has stakes in several offshore wind farms worldwide, is already involved in an energy island project in Denmark, VindØ, deemed world’s first energy island. Within the project, CIP acts as the project developer on behalf of an investor consortium composed of PensionDanmark and PFA, two of Denmark’s largest pension funds, and Denmark’s largest utility company, Andel, collectively known as the VindØ consortium.

For Allianz, this is also not the first venture in offshore wind, as the asset manager last year signed an agreement to purchase a 25.2 per cent stake in the 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Netherlands from the chemicals producer BASF.

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