The project, located in Italian ‘ultra-deep waters’, is in its first phase of permitting, with the grid connection and the environmental impact assessments underway.

The wind and hydrogen offshore assets are planned to be developed and constructed by both Aquaterra Energy and Seawind in Italy, opening up thousands of qualified jobs.

Aquaterra Energy will provide its offshore engineering and green hydrogen production expertise to ensure the right approach and solutions are chosen to drive the development forward, which will be complemented by Seawind’s expertise in floating offshore wind technology.

The collaboration aims to serve as a template for future offshore renewable energy projects between the companies including a highly impactful 300MW exclusively hydrogen production project, Icarus, in southwest Greece.

Initial field development of the first asset called HyMed is expected to produce 3.2GW of electricity, of which more than 1GW will be green hydrogen once production units are fully operational.

The project partners expect to transport the green hydrogen onshore by pipeline or by vessels to global markets  when complete. Hydrogen is at the heart of the energy transition in Europe and this project will leverage the wind electricity and hydrogen markets, starting in Italy.

Anne Haase, who was appointed Renewables Director at Aquaterra Energy in August, said with governments and business recognising the value of hydrogen as a vital resource for net zero initiatives, energy security, and guarding against volatile natural gas prices, it has identified opportunities for production presented through the new partnership.

She said, “Seawind’s fully integrated and scalable floating wind model offers a clear path to cost-effective industrial scale production – and we are delighted to be able to provide the final piece of the production puzzle for it.”

The project will enable Aquaterra Energy to build on expertise established through its previous work on a fully-scalable offshore green hydrogen production model, and apply it to Seawind’s unique approach to floating offshore wind, which could significantly accelerate the production process.

Haase added, “Through our work on Project Haldane we have developed industry leading hydrogen expertise within the business and are extremely enthusiastic to partner with Seawind to assist in accelerating its innovative production strategy.”

Dimitrios Moudouris, CEO at Seawind Ocean Technology, was pleased to partner with Aquaterra Energy in these highly impactful projects in Italy and Greece.

He said, “We consider the Mediterranean to be the best area where significant offshore wind projects can be developed and cross-border synergies can be made, serving Europe and MENA. Aquaterra Energy has displayed its expertise and commitment to green hydrogen through existing projects and we identified an experienced partner to enable us to accelerate our ambitious offshore wind and hydrogen project development strategy.”

Aquaterra Energy has developed a reliable offshore green hydrogen production concept, he added, and understands the wider offshore energy marketplace and range of options and solutions to off-take offshore green hydrogen.

“Culturally, we feel that Seawind and Aquaterra Energy are a strong fit as our partners as they possess the agility and specialist knowledge to complement our approach to scalability and to accelerate the energy transition,” he added.

Seawind Polska, based in Gdynia, is one of the signatories of a recently announced Polish Offshore Wind Sector Deal. The aim of the agreement is to initiate and implement joint measures for the development of offshore wind energy in Poland and construction of offshore wind farms.

Last week Lhyfe also claimed a world first with its offshore green hydrogen site in Saint-Nazaire, France.

The multinational started the 18-month wind powered pilot as part of its drive towards large-scale carbon reduction, and prove that it is now possible to produce the clean energy source offshore. It aims to start industrial deployment from 2024.

Read more:  Lhyfe launches ‘world first’ offshore green hydrogen site