China Successfully Produce Hydrogen from Seawater

Scientists at an offshore wind farm on the southeast coast of China have successfully produced green hydrogen through a direct seawater electrolysis process.

The process, which removes the need for separate desalination, was tested for 10 days on a floating offshore hydrogen production platform located at the 459.4MW Xinghua Bay offshore wind farm.

Jointly developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation and a team led by Professor Heping Xie from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Sichuan University, the platform endured force-eight wind speeds, one-metre-high waves, and a rainstorm during its 240 hours of operation.

Dongfang describe the floating hydrogen platform, called Dongfu One, as the first of its kind to be combined with renewable energy.

Prior to the platforms operation, the researchers had already conducted 3,200 hours of operation using a demonstration system.

Dongfu One integrates onsite hydrogen production using non-desalinated seawater electrolysis technology along with smart energy conversion management, safety monitoring and control, as well as loading and unloading systems.

Dongfang commented: “Its successful test validates the feasibility and stability of direct seawater electrolysis technology in a real ocean environment.”