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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Production Plant Integrated with

an Innovative Hydro-Pneumatic Energy Storage Device

J Settino1, R N Farrugia1, D Buhagiar2 and T Sant3

1
Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Malta, Marsaxlokk MXK1531, Malta.
2
FLASC B.V., Delft, The Netherlands.
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malta, Msida MSD2080,
Malta.

robert.n.farrugia@um.edu.mt

Abstract. One of the main technical challenges of wind-to-hydrogen production plants is to

couple intermittent and variable renewable power sources, such as wind turbines, with an
electrolyser. Most hydrogen production concepts rely on electrical storage to smoothen the
power input to the electrolyser. In this study, the use of a hydro-pneumatic energy storage system
is proposed as an interface between the green, fluctuating electricity supply and the electrolyser.
The performance of the proposed solution is analysed and compared to that of a conventional
offshore wind-to-hydrogen production plant in order to identify potential advantages and
drawbacks. The results of the simulations show that the FLASC energy storage system provides
a stabilized, yet green power supply. Short-term fluctuations of the power input to the
electrolyser can be avoided. A 70% reduction of the On/Off cycles can be obtained. Moreover,
if compared to an offshore wind-to-hydrogen production plant with no storage there is no
substantial difference in terms of hydrogen production observed over the analysed period of one
year in spite of a 70% round-trip efficiency of the energy storage device.

1. Introduction
Hydrogen is expected to become a key energy carrier [1]. According to IRENA [2], the hydrogen
demand will be of over 160 million metric tons by 2050. Currently, up to 96% of the overall hydrogen
is produced using fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), and only 4% is produced by electrolysis, as
underlined by Kothari et al. [3]. Electrolysis is a process that allows for splitting of water molecules into
hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. In contrast to steam reforming, gasification and partial oxidation
of fossil fuels, electrolysis can be considered a green technology if renewable energy is used instead to
power the electrolyser [4].
Coupling intermittent power sources, such as wind turbines, with an electrolyser represents one of
the main technical challenges of green hydrogen production plants [5, 6]. Most hydrogen production
concepts rely on electrical storage to smoothen the power input to the electrolyser [7]. The study
performed by Gahleitner [8] shows that Lead-acid batteries were used in 53% of the analysed power-to-
gas plants when the renewable energy generator was directly connected to the electrolyser. These
smoothen the power output of the generator, thus minimising the On/Off cycling of the electrolyser.
Even though storage devices mitigate the problems associated with the stochastic nature of the wind
resource, conventional onshore energy storage technologies are usually not ideal for large-scale offshore

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

applications. Battery storage systems introduce significant safety hazards in a highly-volatile hydrogen
production environment and take up precious floating platform deck space if co-located near offshore
RE systems. Moreover, batteries have to be replaced every 5 to 7 years.
In this study, an innovative approach has been proposed: using a Floating Liquid-piston Accumulator
using Seawater under Compression (FLASC) energy storage system (ESS) as an interface between the
green, fluctuating electricity supply and the electrolyser.
The FLASC system is a type of Hydro-Pneumatic Energy Storage (HPES) technology [9], that
consists of two chambers: the upper floating air chamber (A) and the liquid piston chamber (B) that is
anchored at the seabed [10]. The two chambers are inter-connected via a pneumatic umbilical. A
schematic representation of the FLASC system is shown in Figure 1. A small-scale prototype of the
FLASC technology was deployed in Malta in 2017 (Figure 2). The testing campaign served to
demonstrate the working principle, measure the thermodynamic response and validate the numerical
models required when designing larger embodiments [11, 12]. The technology is presently being up-
scaled and industrialised through a number of ongoing initiatives.

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the FLASC energy storage system. Source: [6]

Figure 2. Small-scale prototype of the FLASC system deployed in Malta. Source: [11]

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

Figure 3. Innovative wind-to hydrogen plant interfaced with a FLASC-integrated system

In the initial discharged state, both chambers are filled with air at a pre-set pressure. During charging,
the electricity supplied by the renewable source is used to pump seawater into the seabed component by
means of a reversible pump / turbine; at this stage operating in pump mode. Water pumped into the
lower chamber decreases the internal air volume across both chambers as the air also flows through the
umbilical and up into the upper floating chamber, A. The system is fully-charged when the prescribed
limit to the water capacity of chamber B is reached. When no wind power is available, the compressed
air inside the hydro-pneumatic storage vessels is allowed to expand, expelling seawater at high pressure.
The pressurised seawater drives the reversible pump-turbine, now operating in turbine mode. If coupled
to an intermittent renewable source such as the wind turbine, the FLASC system can supply a stable
supply of green power. A schematic representation of the system concept is provided in Figure 3.
The electricity generated by the wind turbine coupled with a FLASC system is used to power the
electrolyser, the ionic compressor and all the auxiliaries. The performance of the proposed solution is
analysed and compared to that of a conventional wind-to-hydrogen production plant without storage.

2. Methodology
In order to compare the performance of the conventional wind-to-hydrogen production plant against that
of the proposed innovative concept, simulations of the two processes were carried out. For the sake of
comparison, the same process layout has been considered in both scenarios being analysed. Seawater is
fed to the desalination unit, consisting of a filtration and reverse osmosis (RO) system. Afterwards, the
permeate water is passed on to the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser to be converted to
hydrogen, which is then pressurized through the ionic compressor.
In both scenarios, a typical 6 MW wind turbine has been considered. The characteristic power curve
of the wind turbine is provided in Figure 4. For the analysis, one year of data (from July 2005 to June
2006) from the Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm site [13], with an averaging period of 10 minutes,
was considered. Mathematical models of the different system components were developed and validated
based on scientific data available in literature or provided by manufacturers. Detailed models of the
desalination unit, PEM electrolyser and ionic compressor were implemented in Matlab 2020a [14] and
are described in the next paragraphs. Additional components were also modelled, such as pressure
exchangers, pumps and converters. All the subsystems were integrated to simulate the overall wind-to-
hydrogen production plant.

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

Figure 4. Power Curve of a generic 6 MW wind turbine

2.1. Reverse Osmosis (RO)

In the reverse osmosis (RO) process, a semi-permeable membrane is used to separate seawater flow, 𝑄! ,
into two streams: a concentrate solution (brine) flow, 𝑄" , and a purified water (permeate) flow, 𝑄# .
Several models have been developed and proposed by a number of authors to determine the performance
of a reverse osmosis system. They can be classified in two main categories: solution-diffusion models
and pore-flow models [15, 16]. In the solution diffusion models, it is assumed that the transport through
the membrane occurs only by diffusion and that the permeants dissolve in the membrane and then
diffuse. On the other hand, the pore-flow models consider the presence of tiny pores on the membrane
and assume that the permeants are transported by pressure-driven convective flow. A mathematical
model for the Reverse Osmosis process based on the solution-diffusion approach, has been developed.
The water flux (𝐽$ ) and the salt flux (𝐽% ) through the membrane can be determined based on the solution-
diffusion mass transfer model such that:

𝐽$ = 𝐴[(𝑝" − 𝑝& ) − (𝜋$ − 𝜋& )] (1)

𝐽' = 𝐵(𝐶( − 𝐶& ) (2)

where A and B are the pure water permeability and the solute permeability constants respectively. The
variable p represents the pressure; with the subscript p referring to the permeate and the subscript b
indicating the brine. The concentration of solute is C while the symbol 𝜋 represents the osmotic pressure
that is a function of the concentration.
The main input variables of the model are: the characteristics of the membrane provided by the
manufacturer (variables A and B), the seawater solute concentration, pressure and temperature. The
model provides the following outputs: the permeate flow rate (𝑄# ), the brine flow rate (𝑄" ) and their
concentrations.

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

The model was tested by varying the input parameters to cover a wide range of operation: from low
seawater salinity (15,000 ppm) to a high solute concentration (45,000 ppm) and was validated based on
data available in literature [17, 18].

2.2. The PEM Electrolyser

The models proposed in literature to investigate the performance of a PEM Electrolyser can be classified
depending on: the physical domain involved (electrochemical, thermal and mass transfer models), the
modelling approach (analytical or empirical) and on the scale (single cell, stack or overall system) of
the unit [19]. All models aim at describing electrolyser behaviour. The performance of an electrolyser
is summarized by its polarisation curve, which shows the relationship between the voltage and the
current density.
In this study, the polarization curve was determined based on physical laws and equations. The cell
voltage was obtained considering the reversible potential (𝐸)*+ ), the activation overvoltage
(𝐸,-.,,0 , 𝐸,-.,-,. ), the ohmic overvoltage (𝐸123 ) and the diffusion overvoltage (𝐸45!!,,0 , 𝐸45!!,-,. ), as
described in detail by Abdin et al. [20] as follows:

𝐸-*66 = 𝐸)*+ + 𝐸,-.,,0 + 𝐸,-.,-, + 𝐸123 + 𝐸45!!,,0 + 𝐸45!!,-,. (3)

The hydrogen production rate was estimated based on Faraday’s Law [21].

𝑛- 𝐼 (4)
𝑛̇ 78 = 𝜂9
𝑧𝐹

where 𝑛̇ 78 is molar flow of hydrogen in mol/s, 𝐼 is the current in A, F is the Faraday Constant
(96485 C/mol), 𝑧 is the number of electrons transferred for each mol of hydrogen produced (in this case,
it is 2), 𝑛- is number of electrolyser cells and 𝜂9 is the Faraday efficiency (usually considered equal
to 1). The results of the PEM Electrolyser model were validated and are in agreement with published
material [22, 23].

2.3. The Ionic Compressor (IC)

The ionic compressor represents an interesting alternative to conventional multi-stage compressors. It
was patented by the Linde Group in 2006 [24]. Since then, it has been commercialised and is widely
used for hydrogen compression. According to the information provided by the manufacturer, a nearly
isothermal compression process occurs and an efficiency of almost 100% is reached. In this study, a
model of the ionic compressor was developed considering the real gas behaviour of hydrogen at high
pressures. The ideal gas law is suitable to represent the behaviour of hydrogen up to 10 MPa, but this
leads to an error of 44% when used for pressures of 70 MPa [25]. At high pressures, hydrogen shows a
non-linear correlation between density and gas pressure. In order to consider this effect, the Redlich–
Kwong equation was implemented [26]. Hence, a more accurate prediction of the work required to
compress the hydrogen can be obtained, so that:

𝑣8 − 𝑏 𝑎 (𝑣8 + 𝑏) 𝑣: (5)
𝑊 = 𝑅 𝑇 ln = @+ ln C D
𝑣: − 𝑏 𝑏 √𝑇 (𝑣: + 𝑏) 𝑣8

where R is the gas constant, 𝑣 the molar volume (m3 mol-1), T is the temperature (K) and the subscripts
1 and 2 refer to the initial and final states of the gas respectively.

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

3. Results
Using the software tool developed in Matlab 2020a, simulations were carried out to analyse the
performance of both a conventional wind-to-hydrogen production plant and the proposed concept with
integrated storage. The main results are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Main simulation results.

Wind-to-Hydrogen Plant without storage Wind-to-Hydrogen Plant with storage
Generated Electricity: 2.65 ∙ 10 kWh
7
Generated Electricity: 2.65 ∙ 107 kWh
H2 Production: 4.17 ∙ 106 Nm3 H2 Production: 4.17 ∙ 106 Nm3
5
Energy Losses: 2.828 ∙ 105 kWh (1.1 %) Energy Saved: 1.98 ∙ 10 kWh (0.75 %)

2
Minimum Power Required: 512.181 kW Power at 1 A/cm : 2631.5 kW
4 3
Additional H2 Production: 3.4 ∙ 10 Nm (0.82 %)
-
3
(455.256 Nm /h * 75.24 h)
Number of ON/OFF cycles: Number of ON/OFF cycles:
543 162 (70% reduction)

The electricity generated by the wind turbine is the same in both scenarios, but the analysis shows
that about 1.1% of the generated electricity is lost in conventional wind-to-hydrogen plants. A minimum
power of 512.181 kW is required to operate the electrolyser and all the auxiliaries. Hence, all the power
below this threshold value is lost if no storage device is used.
In the analysis of the wind-to-hydrogen plant with integrated storage, it was assumed that the energy
lost can be exploited. The energy saved is determined considering the energy lost in the conventional
system with no storage and considering a round-trip efficiency (𝜂). ) of 0.7 for the FLASC-integrated
system, such that:
𝐸',+*4 = 𝐸61'. ∙ 𝜂). (6)

The additional hydrogen production was estimated considering that the energy recovered as a result
of the storage device was used to power the overall hydrogen production plant. Since a power of
2631.5 kW is required to operate the electrolyser at a current density of 1 A/cm2 with a corresponding
hydrogen production rate of 455.256 Nm3/h, the number of additional hours during which the system is
in operation has been defined as the ratio between the saved energy and the power required. The
additional hydrogen produced can be estimated by multiplying the hydrogen production rate and the
number of hours.
It is worth noting that the additional hydrogen produced represents a marginal increase if compared
to the overall hydrogen production (at below 1%). This is important to underline since, despite the
inclusion of a storage device with a round-trip efficiency of 70%, no reduction in H2 production was
observed. The energy lost due to the non-ideal efficiency of the ESS is compensated for by the energy
savings. The latter includes:
- the energy below the minimum threshold value required to operate the whole plant;
- the energy recovered thanks to the reduced number of ON/OFF cycles. A period of 20 minutes
is necessary to start a PEM electrolyser after a shut down.
- The number of ON/OFF cycles was determined for a storage system sized to maintain a fixed
power output for 2 hours. Compared to the conventional ‘no storage’ option, a 70% reduction
in cycles could be achieved. This is due to the FLASC-integrated system that enables the

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

averaging of the overall power output over a determined period of time. Hence, as shown in
Figure 5, short-term fluctuations of the power input to the electrolyser can be avoided. In
Figure 5, the electricity generated by a typical 6 MW wind turbine is represented in blue while
the power output provided by the wind turbine coupled with the FLASC-integrated system is
shown in red.

Figure 5. Comparison between the electricity generated by a 6 MW wind turbine and the output of
a wind turbine coupled with the FLASC-integrated system having a storage period of 2 hours

4. Conclusions
The analysis performed shows that the proposed concept allows for reducing short-term power
fluctuations and the number of electrolyser ON/OFF cycles by some 70%. This is expected to increase
the electrolyser lifetime substantially. Moreover, despite the FLASC system’s 70% round-trip
efficiency, no reduction in H2 production was observed. The benefit of including a storage system is
evident. Nevertheless, the proposed solution provides additional benefits also compared to a wind-to-
hydrogen production system using electrical storage (batteries) in that no additional space is required on
an offshore platform and that there is no fire hazard given that none of the materials used in the FLASC
ESS is flammable. Moreover, compared to batteries that have to be replaced, the proposed solution is
designed for a longer lifetime of more than 30 years of continuous operation, i.e. similar to the wind
turbine and electrolyser expected lifetime. Additionally, the FLASC system utilises components whose
performance characteristics are already proven and well-understood.

Acknowledgments & Collaborations

Project supported through the Maritime Seed Award (MarSA) 2019 funded by Transport Malta
(formerly Malta Marittima). Project carried out in collaboration with FLASC B.V., Delft, The
Netherlands.

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WindEurope Electric City 2021 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2151 (2022) 012013 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2151/1/012013

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