BrintØ: A new vision to boost offshore wind and green hydrogen

25.05.2022

Our close partner, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has proposed to build an artificial island dedicated to large-scale production of green hydrogen from offshore wind. "BrintØ" (in English: “Hydrogen Island”) is to be located at Dogger Bankin the Danish part of the North Sea.

As soon as 2030 a new artificial energy island could rise out of the rough waters of the North Sea. Unlike its sister-island, the ground-breaking VindØ announced last year, this island will primarily supply Europe with energy in the form of green hydrogen – and lots of it.

Behind this idea is our partner Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). "BrintØ" (or "Hydrogen Island"), as it is called, will have 10 GW of offshore wind power connected to it and a production capacity of around 1 million tons of green hydrogen. That corresponds to approximately 7 percent of EU's total expected hydrogen consumption in 2030.

COWI is CIP's partner on the project and together with Arkitema we assist CIP in making this novel concept come to life.

»We're truly proud to be part of such a visionary and important project. Grand ideas are what is needed if we are to succeed with the green transition, and at COWI we are all about working together with our customers and partners to bring those big ideas to life, and to secure energy independency and mitigate climate changes,« says Jan Behrendt Ibsø, Group Senior Market Director for offshore renewables in COWI.

BrintØ could be a first-of-its-kind. Envisioned to be placed in the shallow waters of Dogger Bank in the Danish part of the North Sea, this new island would be situated at one of the world's best sites for harnessing wind power.

Together with other adjacent energy islands built over time, it will produce very large amounts of green hydrogen from offshore wind for export to nearby countries, e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. BrintØ will thus create a foundation for the production of sustainable green fuels for cars, trucks, ships and aircrafts. 

BrintØ can also become a showcase for Danish competencies within offshore wind, green fuels and green energy systems. This will lead to new export opportunities for Denmark, and thus contribute to significant economic growth and local job creation. 

»It is critical that the Danish flag is planted quickly and strategically in the new expansion of green energy infrastructure in the North Sea. This will help to ensure that both our and future Danish and European generations can continue to benefit from the sustainable and inexhaustible energy source that the North Sea offers,« says Thomas Dalsgaard, Partner at CIP.

The BrintØ project provides a significant contribution to reaching the ambitious targets set by the Danish government earlier this year, as well as the transnational political ambitions demonstrated at the North Sea Summit held the 18th of May in Esbjerg, Denmark. Here, four countries pledged to develop 150 GW of offshore windpower in the North Sea.