TotalEnergies buys stake in wind farm to produce green hydrogen

French energy major TotalEnergies has bought a 50% stake in the 795 MW OranjeWind offshore wind farm from German renewable developer RWE and will dedicate it to producing green hydrogen.

TotalEnergies will use its share of the renewable electricity production from the project to power 350MW electrolyzer projects. These will produce about 40,000 tons per year of green hydrogen for the decarbonization of TotalEnergies’ refineries in Northern Europe. This will cut its CO2 emissions by around 5m tonnes per year by 2030.

The production of this green or low-carbon hydrogen, which will replace the hydrogen currently consumed in TotalEnergies’ refineries, will avoid the emission of approximately 400,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The project will contribute to the French company’s goal of a 40% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions linked directly to its oil and gas operations by 2030, compared to the 2015 baseline.

Located in the North Sea, about 53 km off the Dutch coast, the OranjeWind project was won by RWE in 2022 as part of the Dutch Hollandse Kust West VII tender. RWE then committed to developing electrolyzers which will now be done in cooperation with TotalEnergies.

In addition to producing green power and hydrogen, OranjeWind will also support the stability of the Dutch grid with its electric boilers and battery storage. Construction of the wind farm is scheduled to start in 2026, with full commissioning expected in early 2028.