H2-Offshore - Production possibilities & effects of sustainable hydrogen from offshore wind energy on the energy system

The project "Generation possibilities & effects of sustainable hydrogen from offshore wind energy on the energy system" is a 6-month research semester funded by the EKSH.

The potential role of hydrogen in the transformation of the energy system is currently attracting increasing interest. Many EU Member States have developed detailed national strategies demonstrating the potential of hydrogen to play an important role in the decarbonisation of the energy system. Schleswig-Holstein wants to play a pioneering role in the production, distribution and use of green hydrogen throughout Europe. A main idea is to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and then use it in different sectors and consumption areas where electricity-based solutions are less suitable. Offshore wind energy in the North Sea region can play a particularly important role here.

In order to investigate the generation possibilities and effects of sustainable hydrogen from offshore wind energy on the energy system, the research semester places a special focus on the following research questions:

(i) How much hydrogen is required for cost-effective decarbonization pathways in the German and European energy systems?

(ii) What is the potential for Germany in the various demand sectors and what role can offshore wind energy from the North Sea region and Schleswig-Holstein play in this?

(iii) How do domestic production and hydrogen import volumes for Germany behave under different scenario assumptions?

These research questions are to be answered using the Global Energy System Model (GENeSYS-MOD). GENeSYS-MOD is a cost-optimizing, techno-economic, linear model for analyzing the transformation of the energy system, which is based on the open-source Energy Modeling System (OSeMOSYS). In addition to the power sector, GENeSYS-MOD also includes other sectors, such as the industrial, building and transport sectors. This enables an assessment of sector coupling aspects in future energy systems and their impact on the development of electricity, hydrogen and other energy carriers.