SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announce MoU to bring green hydrogen to UK and Ireland
26 Jul 2021SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the opportunity to produce and deliver green hydrogen through electrolysis using energy from two onshore windfarms in Scotland and Ireland.
The partnership aims to encompass the full green hydrogen value chain, including construction, supply chain management, customer offtake and storage, end user requirements, reliability and operation and maintenance.
The two companies will also aim to work with green hydrogen customers across a range of industries including transportation, major distilleries and gas network operators.
Hydrogen is fast being recognised as having a potentially revolutionary role to play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, including heavy industry and transportation. The partnership between SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa will help power commitments by both companies to support the UK and Irish Governments in reaching their individual net zero targets, including in the UK hitting 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production by 2030.
Under the partnership, SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa aim to co-locate hydrogen production facilities at two selected onshore wind farms, one each in Scotland and Ireland to be announced in due course, from which the partners will begin production and delivery of green hydrogen through electrolysis.
Looking beyond onshore wind, Scotland and Ireland’s abundant renewable energy resource can support the establishment of a hydrogen economy, presenting long-term opportunities to export green hydrogen to regions around the UK and to mainland Europe.
"Hydrogen is rapidly becoming an important and exciting component of the strategy to decarbonise power production, heavy industry and transport, among other sectors. And the revolutionary production of green hydrogen from wind energy offers wider opportunity for markets such as Scotland and Ireland to further exploit our abundant wind resources. That’s why it makes perfect sense for SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa to come together to explore how we can use our experience and expertise to harness our fantastic wind resource to bring the green hydrogen revolution to Scotland and Ireland, and so help decarbonise the wider UK and European economies."
Jim Smith Managing Director of SSE Renewables
Paulina Hobbs, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service Northern Europe & Middle East CEO, stated:
“It took three decades for wind and solar to reach grid parity with fossil fuels, green hydrogen needs to do the same in one decade if we are to reach our 2050 carbon neutral targets. Siemens Gamesa is committed to making this happen but it can only be achieved when we work together with companies such as SSE Renewables to help springboard the development and we are very excited to see what this partnership can create.”
Siemens Gamesa has already successfully collaborated to bring a hydrogen production plant into operation where hydrogen is produced from an onshore wind project. The Brande Hydrogen pilot site in Denmark features a battery, a turbine and an electrolyzer to serve as a test bed for several technology pathways, including the production of green hydrogen in the near-term from existing wind projects.
Siemens Gamesa’s partnership with SSE Renewables in Scotland and Ireland aims to allow for the future development of these technologies at scale, producing cost efficient green hydrogen and proving the feasibility of green hydrogen production co-located with wind farms.
With an operational renewable portfolio of 4GW and a development pipeline including over 1GW of onshore wind and the largest offshore wind pipeline in the UK and Ireland at around 7GW, SSE Renewables is well placed to provide the future renewable power needed to power a green hydrogen economy.
Siemens Gamesa is a world-leading supplier of on- and offshore wind turbines and services and is also at the forefront of developing technologies and innovative wind-to-hydrogen solutions, playing a pivotal role in the energy transition.