Bahía H2 Offshore obtains 5.7 million euros from PERTE ERHA to develop hydrogen and ammonia production technologies in the port waters.
This proposal, led by the marine energy cluster of Cantabria (SICC), will position the specialized companies of the Autonomous Community in the marine energy and green hydrogen market.
The port will be a pilot consumer of this project that presents ammonia as an alternative to be used as fuel for ships.
Santander 04-03-23. With a required investment of 7.8 million euros, the "Bahía H2 Offshore" project has provisionally obtained 5.7 million euros from the incentive program for the innovative and knowledge value chain of renewable hydrogen in the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. PERTE ERHA (Renewable Energies Hydrogen and Storage).
The objective is the development of a pioneering and innovative system for the generation, in marine conditions, of fuels in the form of hydrogen and green ammonia, by means of floating renewable energy (marine wind and/or solar photovoltaic). "Bahía H2 Offshore", will occupy a public domain space of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), and will focus on the design, construction, installation and monitoring of a scale floating platform, integrating new technologies for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia (NH3) which, within the process of decarbonization of the shipbuilding industry, is presented as an alternative to be used as fuel for ships.
This project, coordinated by the Sea of Innovation Cantabria Cluster and with a duration of 36 months, has the support of the clusters FAEN-Ainer from Asturias and Asime from Galicia and an important representation of companies from Cantabria.
The program has the support of the Government of Cantabria, through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Transport and Trade and the Port Authority of Santander, since it will be located in its facilities and it is planned to study the location of floating solar panels that supply clean energy to the platform and the use of green fuel generated in ships and equipment of lines and operators of the Port of Santander.
This project, which will favor the creation of 21 jobs and others that, indirectly, will be generated around the naval, energy and industrial sector, will position the companies of the cluster and of Cantabria, with a specialization in the marine energy and green hydrogen market. Through R&D, and with pilot experiences to improve production capacities and the manufacturing of components/equipment, it will generate a new industrial fabric and a value chain specialized in renewable hydrogen.
During the presentation of Bahía H2 Offshore, the president of the Sea Of Innovation Cantabria Cluster Association (Sicc), Luis San Segundo, explained that hydrogen is the fuel "that best suits the objectives of decarbonization in the maritime sector", while ammonia is "an ideal method for storage, transport and distribution", so the final market for this pilot project would be the supply for maritime vessels in areas far from the coast.
For his part, the president of the APS, Francisco Martin, has celebrated that this project is "already more than a proposal" and has hoped that the Port of Santander is, in addition to being a major player in the development of this technology, "consumer" of it.
For his part, the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Transport and Trade, Javier López Marcano, has given his "congratulations" to the participants and has celebrated the "seriousness and drive" of the institutions to this type of initiatives.