The German-led offshore wind-to-hydrogen initiative AquaVentus and industry association Hydrogen Scotland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on cross-border infrastructure concepts that would link offshore wind power in Scotland (United Kingdom) to hydrogen production in the North Sea. Under the agreement, the two organizations aim to combine Scotland’s offshore wind potential with AquaVentus’ expertise in offshore electrolysis, aligning their respective export and import goals through a coordinated North Sea hydrogen corridor.
A key component of this effort is the AquaDuctus pipeline—a planned offshore hydrogen pipeline designed to transport green hydrogen across the North Sea. The project adopts a “pipes and wires” hybrid model, allowing offshore wind parks to either supply electricity to the grid or convert it into hydrogen via electrolysis for transport via pipeline. The AquaVentus consortium plans to install 10 GW of offshore electrolysis capacity in the North Sea, with the goal of producing up to 1 Mt/year of green hydrogen.
Scotland targets up to 3.3 Mt/year of green hydrogen production for export by 2045, while Germany expects imports to meet 50–70% of its hydrogen demand by 2030, equivalent to as much as 2.3 Mt.