The FEED contract comes after ERM was awarded £8.62m ($9.52m) from the UK Government’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition.
ERM Dolphyn (Deepwater Offshore Local Production of HYdrogeN) has developed a concept design to produce large-scale green hydrogen from floating offshore wind, employing a modular design that integrates electrolysis and a wind turbine on a semi-submersible moored floating platform.
In 2020, ERM was awarded £3.12m from the UK Government to develop the Dolphyn project.
Read more: ERM awarded £3.12m for green hydrogen offshore wind project
The 10MW demonstrator, targeting operation in late 2025, comes as a key step in proving the Dolphyn concept ahead of commercial scale deployment, which ERM hopes could see large-scale projects under develop ahead of 2030.
ERM plans to establish a 400 turbine ‘farm’ which it expects to boast 4GW of total capacity, the company says it has the potential to supply energy to heat to more than 1.5 million homes.
David Caine, Partner at ERM, said, “It is now established that to meet net-zero ambitions in the UK and all around the world, hydrogen from offshore floating wind needs to be a significant component in any viable long-term solution for heat, electricity generation, and transport.
“The ERM Dolphyn project, a first-of-a-kind, is an innovative integrated system combining all the technologies required to bring the latest floating wind and hydrogen production technologies together to enable offshore wind resources to contribute toward hydrogen production at scale. Principle Power has been instrumental in this process, and we’re delighted to extend our collaboration.”
Gregory-Campbell Smith, Senior Busiiness Developer Manager, Europe at Principle Power, added, “We are pleased to continue our years-long collaboration with ERM on the Dolphyn project, and we are eager to further develop partnerships across the entire supply chain supporting floating offshore wind applications to support and accelerate growth in the UK and globally. Moving to FEED on the Dolphyn project is a significant milestone towards our collective carbon-free future.”
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