Germany looks offshore for wind-to-hydrogen future

Government launches tender to explore potential of pairing offshore wind with electrolysis in country’s northern exclusive economic zone

Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has put out a tender call for the testing and development of offshore wind paired with hydrogen electrolysis. The tender is part of the country’s existing Wind Energy at Sea Act, which contains provisions to conduct experiments in technologies not part of the energy system in the country’s exclusive economic zone, a broad swathe of offshore real estate in Germany’s north. While admitting the development timeline for any scalable offshore production of green hydrogen is in the very earliest stages, the ministry envisions such capabilities as being beneficial—if not critical—to the future of German industry. “If we want to get th