Wednesday 4 August 2021

The 200 MW Salamander floating wind project, developed by Simply Blue Energy in partnership with Subsea 7, has signed a memorandum of understanding with ERM for the potential use of the ERM Dolphyn hydrogen technology. The project is also working closely with Scotland Gas Networks (SGN) to potentially integrate with and connect into future 100 % hydrogen infrastructure or as a blend with existing gas infrastructure, which SGN are aiming to develop through their decarbonisation roadmap.

The award-winning ERM Dolphyn is a first of a kind technology combining electrolysis, desalination and hydrogen production on a floating wind platform - with the hydrogen transported to shore via pipeline. It is an economic and scalable solution, which produces green hydrogen with no carbon emissions at the point of use.

SGN is the owner and operator of the gas distribution networks in Scotland, who are currently carrying out the North East Network and Industrial Cluster Project, which in its first phase, aims to develop and deploy a hydrogen economy in Aberdeen and the surrounding area.

The Salamander project has been investigating different routes to market since its inception and due to its advantageous location off Aberdeenshire the project believes producing green hydrogen is a very interesting option. Green hydrogen is viewed as a vital ingredient in achieving the “Net Zero” ambition of the UK. Considering the huge multi-GW potential of floating wind in the UK, pairing green hydrogen with floating wind is a very sensible option and an obvious solution to scaling up green hydrogen production.

The Salamander project, with the incorporation of ERM Dolphyn technology, has the potential to make a material impact on the Government’s 10-point plan, including the ambition to deliver 1 GW of floating wind power by 2030 and 5 GW of green hydrogen by 2030. The proximity to St Fergus Gas Terminal, the significant interest in the energy transition in the Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City regions demonstrated by the recently announced Energy Transition Zone, as well as key flagship projects such as Aberdeen Vision make Salamander the ideal location for green hydrogen production. The combination of innovative floating wind and green hydrogen technologies, and the pipelines and assets surrounding the St Fergus Gas Terminal present an ideal opportunity to begin to decarbonise North Sea energy production.

Prior to the Salamander project, ERM Dolphyn aims to undertake a 10 MW demonstration project, which would produce green hydrogen offshore and provide the first step needed to scale up at Salamander. The Salamander project and ERM Dolphyn will engage in further engineering work in the coming months to assess the potential deployment of the ERM Dolphyn technology within the Salamander project.