Singapore’s BW Group is readying what it says is the world’s first offshore floating hydrogen production facility.

The group’s Oslo-listed floating offshore wind company BW Ideol is teaming up with French engineering college Nantes Centrales for the plant off the country’s west coast.

The unit will be powered by BW Ideol’s landmark floating offshore wind turbine operating successfully since 2018.

The pioneering clean hydrogen project is led by Lhyfe, a leading producer and supplier.

Called “Sealhyfe”, the production facility will be tested in port before being anchored at BW Ideol’s platform.

The pilot site meets all the necessary conditions to validate the production technology before large-scale industrial deployment, BW Ideol said.

The aim is to demonstrate the reliability of an electrolyser at sea.

“Lhyfe’s project is an important and much-needed step towards the development of integrated and autonomous renewable power production systems, using floating wind and green hydrogen in this specific instance,” BW Ideol chief executive Paul de la Gueriviere said.

He added that his company will study all aspects of the interaction between the wind turbine and the hydrogen unit.

“This added return on experience will further contribute to BW Ideol’s unique preparedness for the development and execution of future commercial-scale deployments,” De la Gueriviere said.

Two planks in growth strategy

BW Ideol has a two-pronged growth strategy as a floater exploration and maintenance services provider, and as a wind-farm project developer and co-owner.

The company has two full-scale offshore floating wind turbines in operation in France and Japan, a country which it views as a significant project pipeline.

BW Ideol is supported by sister operation BW Offshore’s extensive experience in developing and operating offshore energy production systems, it said.