OX2 Unveils Plans for 1.9 GW Offshore Energy Hub in Southern Baltic Sea

OX2 has initiated the development of the Neptunus offshore energy hub in the southern Baltic Sea which is estimated to have a total installed capacity of 1.9 GW.

Located about 50 kilometres off the coast of Blekinge in the Swedish economic zone, the energy hub is planned to produce both electricity and hydrogen.

The project will comprise offshore wind turbines as well as installations to convert electricity to hydrogen.

The annual production is estimated to be 8 TWh of electricity, corresponding to about five per cent of Sweden’s current annual electricity consumption.

OX2 already screened and conducted surveys in the area during the last two years and during winter conducted consultations where authorities and the public have been informed and have been given the opportunity to submit comments.

The next step is to compile an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which is expected to be submitted during 2023-2024. The offshore energy hub could be in operation in the early 2030s.

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role as an energy carrier in the future energy system, OX2 said, as it can be used to store, transport, and supply energy as well as be converted to other e-fuels.

The planned electricity production of Neptunus would facilitate a hydrogen production of up to 225,000 tonnes yearly.

“The shift towards hydrogen, fossil-free industries and general electrification demands huge amounts of renewable energy and Neptunus is strategically located to play a key role in this transition. I am happy to announce we have included another project to the Swedish development portfolio”, said Emelie Zakrisson, Head of Offshore Wind Development Sweden, OX2.

OX2 will also investigate if oxygen, which is a byproduct of hydrogen production, can be used to oxygenate the bottom waters of the Baltic Sea in the project area. The project will be included in OX2’s project development portfolio for the first quarter of 2023.

At the end of the fourth quarter, OX2’s portfolio of offshore wind projects was 13.9 GW.

But, more in line with this newly announced project in the southern Baltic Sea is perhaps the Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector (BHC), a massive hydrogen infrastructure project of which OX2 is part as of December 2022.

In December 2022, OX2, the offshore wind developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), and the Finnish and Swedish gas transmission system operators (TSOs), Gasgrid Finland and Nordion Energi, signed an agreement to investigate the development of large-scale offshore hydrogen pipeline infrastructure connecting Finland, Sweden, and Central Europe.

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