Wind and floating solar tapped for first Adriatic green hydrogen hub on oil & gas platforms

The Agnes Project will deploy 65 turbines for 520MW of fixed foundation offshore wind, plus 100MW of floating PV platforms, feeding power to five 25MW electrolysers onboard oil & gas platforms off the Italian port city of Ravenna.

Plans for the fixed-bottom element of Agnes were first revealed last year, but Saipem, which is advancing the project with Italian clean energy specialist QINT'X, gave more details of the project as it unveiled a multi-energy green hydrogen production offering called SUISO, uniting floating wind and solar with other marine renewables such as wave power.

No timescale is given for Agnes – although a grid connection has been secured for the bulk of the power produced – but it could be among the first in the world to tap floating PV for green hydrogen electrolysis, deploying technology from Moss Maritime, a Norwegian subsidiary that is part of Saipem's XSIGHT division.

Agnes would mark a debut for offshore wind in the Adriatic, with options off Italy for fixed-foundation projects limited by the deep waters off much of its shores. Agnes also includes future potential for a 500MW floating wind phase, according to its website.

As well as producing green hydrogen, the platforms could use the oxygen by-product of the process to supply industries such as aquaculture or seaweed production, and “allows the conversion of oil & gas offshore facilities which have now reached the end of their life cycle”.

Saipem accelerates into renewables

Saipem CEO Francesco Caio said of SUISO: “The solution is adaptable to the changing characteristics of the marine sites and to the different production needs.

“The know-how gained in the design and execution of infrastructures and technologically advanced plants allows Saipem to cover the green hydrogen production value chain and to be a strategic partner in the path towards a net zero economy.”