Pengfei Song
Senior Engineer
CNOOC
Participates in
TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Infrastructure
Hydrogen Transportation
Forum 10 | Digital Poster Plaza 2
29
April
14:00
16:00
UTC+3
After years of rapid development of wind power industry in China, the development of excellent onshore wind power and offshore wind power resources has approached saturation, and deep sea offshore wind power has become an inevitable choice for industrial development. The exploitable offshore wind energy resources in China's deep-sea areas exceed 2 billion kilowatts, making deep-sea offshore wind power an inevitable choice for industrial development. However, the grid connection and consumption of deep-sea electricity are challenging. The conventional method of collection, transmission, boosting/conversion, and power delivery via submarine cables incurs exceedingly high costs. Offshore wind power hydrogen production emerges as a potential solution for consumption. However, due to the extremely low density of hydrogen, traditional high-pressure hydrogen storage methods exhibit low volumetric energy density, failing to meet the requirements in terms of safety, hydrogen storage density, and cost. It is imperative to explore novel approaches suitable for offshore storage and transportation, capable of convenient storage and consumption at a higher volumetric energy density.
Liquid organic hydrogen carrier(LOHC) exhibits high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, enabling storage and transportation under ambient temperature and pressure conditions. It leverages existing oil infrastructure, presenting a promising application prospect. Methylcyclohexane-toluene is one of the most promising LOHC technologies, capable of fully utilizing existing oil infrastructure, including offshore oil platforms, Floating Production Storage and Offloading(FPSO) units, submarine oil pipelines, oil tankers, receiving terminals, and oil storage tanks. This facilitates a deep integration of the offshore oil industry with the offshore wind power industry, significantly reducing storage and transportation costs.
Taking the deep-sea offshore wind power in the Shanwei area of eastern Guangdong, China, as an example, hydrogen is produced and then stored and transported using methylcyclohexane-toluene as the medium, leveraging existing offshore oil industrial facilities.
Scenario 1: An FPSO equipped with a booster station, a hydrogen production station, and toluene hydrogenation facilities is stationed within the offshore wind farm. Toluene is synthesized with hydrogen produced from offshore wind power to form methylcyclohexane, which is then stored. Periodically, oil tankers transport the methylcyclohexane back to land for reception, storage, and centralized dehydrogenation.
Scenario 2: Utilizing existing decommissioned offshore platforms, a booster station, a hydrogen production station, and toluene hydrogenation facilities are established. The produced methylcyclohexane is transported to onshore storage and centralized dehydrogenation through existing submarine oil pipelines.
A technical and cost analysis of the above two options is conducted, including the calculation of hydrogen costs at each stage and a comparative economic analysis. This provides a reference for the integrated development of deep-sea offshore wind power and the offshore oil industry.
Liquid organic hydrogen carrier(LOHC) exhibits high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, enabling storage and transportation under ambient temperature and pressure conditions. It leverages existing oil infrastructure, presenting a promising application prospect. Methylcyclohexane-toluene is one of the most promising LOHC technologies, capable of fully utilizing existing oil infrastructure, including offshore oil platforms, Floating Production Storage and Offloading(FPSO) units, submarine oil pipelines, oil tankers, receiving terminals, and oil storage tanks. This facilitates a deep integration of the offshore oil industry with the offshore wind power industry, significantly reducing storage and transportation costs.
Taking the deep-sea offshore wind power in the Shanwei area of eastern Guangdong, China, as an example, hydrogen is produced and then stored and transported using methylcyclohexane-toluene as the medium, leveraging existing offshore oil industrial facilities.
Scenario 1: An FPSO equipped with a booster station, a hydrogen production station, and toluene hydrogenation facilities is stationed within the offshore wind farm. Toluene is synthesized with hydrogen produced from offshore wind power to form methylcyclohexane, which is then stored. Periodically, oil tankers transport the methylcyclohexane back to land for reception, storage, and centralized dehydrogenation.
Scenario 2: Utilizing existing decommissioned offshore platforms, a booster station, a hydrogen production station, and toluene hydrogenation facilities are established. The produced methylcyclohexane is transported to onshore storage and centralized dehydrogenation through existing submarine oil pipelines.
A technical and cost analysis of the above two options is conducted, including the calculation of hydrogen costs at each stage and a comparative economic analysis. This provides a reference for the integrated development of deep-sea offshore wind power and the offshore oil industry.
