The ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced an investment of NOK 200 million (EUR 20,271,400) in HYDROGENi: a new centre for environment-friendly energy research (FME) dedicated to hydrogen and ammonia.
NorthWind director John Olav Tande welcomed this news, saying that wind energy and hydrogen production, transport and use are likely to be closely interlinked in the energy system of the future. “Production of hydrogen can serve as a controllable load to support balancing of demand and generation in the power system. Essentially, you can make hydrogen when there is surplus wind energy, and use hydrogen when the wind stops blowing”, says Tande.
He adds that hydrogen is also an attractive means to transport large amounts of energy, and can be an alternative to HVDC transmission (transmission by subsea cables and power lines).
Hydrogeni shows its business relevance by having enlisted a strong cluster of over 50 industrial and academic partners, and innovation from the centre’s research is expected to be a key driver of the green shift in Norway, as well as create jobs and build expertise.
“Hydrogen is a prerequisite for the energy transition globally, in Europe and in Norway. It will add strategic autonomy to the energy system, a highly relevant topic in Europe today. Hydrogen can make the energy system more resilient, but also help us achieve our net-zero target by 2050,” says Alexandra Bech Gjørv, CEO of SINTEF.
Hydrogeni, like NorthWind, will have a total duration of eight years.
