Green hydrogen at sea cheaper and more sustainable

The installations of SEA2H2 at the demo location - Researchers from Wageningen University & Research have shown that the production costs of green hydrogen via electrolysis at sea can be reduced by making Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) on site by means of membrane distillation. This ultra-clean water is essential for the conversion of wind energy into 'green' hydrogen. With this research, a demonstration prototype on Texel showed that ultra-pure water can be made from seawater with residual heat released during electrolysis of water (for hydrogen production). Jolanda van Medevoort, project leader of this research and researcher within the Water Treatment & Technology program is delighted that this pilot has been completed so successfully. "This makes the business case for green hydrogen more competitive and that is desperately needed, because at the moment green hydrogen cannot compete with grey hydrogen produced with fossil energy. And what is just as important is that the membrane distillation process itself is also more environmentally friendly compared to reverse osmosis, which is now often used. Membrane distillation not only uses much less electrical energy because it applies the residual heat from the electrolyzer, but it is also more environmentally friendly because no chemicals are needed for the pre-treatment of seawater.