CIP proposes to build a hydrogen island in the North Sea by 2030
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) proposes to build an artificial island dedicated to large-scale production of green hydrogen from offshore wind – called “BrintO” (in English: “Hydrogen Island”) – in the Danish part of the North Sea. The island is expected to be able to supply an unprecedented amount of green hydrogen by 2030 and will thus be a crucial step in securing Europe’s future green energy supply.
The BrintO project provides a significant contribution to reaching the ambitious targets set by the Danish government earlier this year, as well as the transnational political will demonstrated at the North Sea Summit held the 18th of May in Esbjerg, Denmark.
BrintO could be a first-of-its-kind. BrintO – and over time other adjacent energy islands – will produce very large amounts of green hydrogen from offshore wind for export to nearby countries, e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. BrintO will thus create a foundation for the production of sustainable green fuels via Power-to-X for trucks, ships and aircrafts. BrintO can become a showcase for Danish competencies within offshore wind, Power-to-X and green energy systems. This will lead to new export opportunities for Denmark, and thus contribute to significant economic growth and local job creation.
BrintO is envisaged to be established on the Danish part of Dogger Bank; an area expected to become a central hub for the future build-out of offshore energy infrastructure in the North Sea. The area consists of a 20,000 km2 sandbank and offers some of the world’s best conditions for producing low-cost green electricity, due to low water depths and strong wind resources. With BrintO, Denmark therefore has a unique opportunity to secure a strategic role in relation to the expected development of a wide-ranging network of offshore infrastructure, spanning from energy islands to power cables and hydrogen pipelines, across the North Sea’s territorial boundaries.
Facts about BrintO
- To be an artificial island dedicated to large-scale hydrogen production
- Expected to be placed on the Danish part of Dogger Bank
- To be connected to 10 GW offshore wind, which will primarily be used to produce green hydrogen via Power- to-X
- Expected to be able to be in production by 2030
- The green hydrogen can be exported to the Northwestern EU (e.g., Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium) via offshore hydrogen pipelines of approx. 275 km
- Wil be able to produce around 1 million tons of green hydrogen per year when fully built out (10GW), corresponding to approx. 7% of the EU’s expected hydrogen consumption in 2030
- Leading consultancy company and our cooperation partner, COWI, has made a movie illustrating the vision for the Hydrogen Island that could be operational by 2030.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments, and a leader in offshore wind globally. At COP26 CIP announced the ambition and a roadmap for increasing and accelerating its role in delivering on the energy transition by deploying EUR 100bn into green energy investments by 2030.
CIP manages ten funds and has approx. EUR 18 billion of assets under management focused on investments in energy infrastructure, including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity and storage, and other energy assets like Power-to-X and advanced bioenergy. Today CIP’s funds have approximately 120 international institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Asia, Australia, and North America and multilateral organizations e.g. EIB. CIP has approximately 300 employees and offices in Copenhagen, London, Hamburg, Utrecht, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Melbourne.