The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has allocated EUR 1.1 million for research into large-scale offshore wind production, offshore storage and transport alternatives.
The project, part of the PhD@sea program, analyses the feasibility of bringing large amounts of offshore wind energy to shore, varying from electricity offshore electrical pumped storage and hydrogen conversion to novel methods to transport electricity and/or hydrogen to shore.
The aim of this research is to move forward by assessing the feasibility of novel technologies for offshore energy storage and transport options by examining the technical challenges while taking into account explicit market, legal/regulatory and spatial planning considerations.
It will involve four parallel PhD projects that, on multiple occasions, will join forces in answering the research questions.
The PhD@sea program focuses on cross-disciplinary research projects that can help realize the planning, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind farms. For the program, NWO works with the Topsector Energy.
Partners in the project are the University of Groningen, the University of Utrecht, Ocean Grazer B.V., Loyens & Loeff, New Energy Coalition, NOGAT, NOORDGASTRANSPORT, Vattenfall, Siemens Nederland, TNO, Dutch Energy Law Association NeVER, NOGEPA, and TenneT.