The production and use of energy across economic sectors account for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. This means that further decarbonising the energy system is critical to reach climate objectives in 2030 and 2050. Clean renewable power production must become the main source of energy. While onshore resources are already deployed at substantial scale, the use of offshore energy resources is still relatively limited.

TOPIC 1: DEMONSTRATION OF INNOVATIVE CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES TO ENABLE FUTURE LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT OF OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES (WITH THE POSSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ALSO HYDROGEN APPLICATIONS)

Projects shall demonstrate at sea critical offshore renewable energy innovations considering the efficiency, reliability, sustainability and circularity that is needed in all areas of the offshore renewable energy system, notably:

• Offshore renewable energy power generating systems: innovative large scale integrated systems, floaters and substructures, mooring and anchoring systems specifically conceived for floating offshore considering the varied subsea conditions.
• Grid infrastructure: innovative Direct Current (DC), AC/DC hybrid technologies and systems as a supporting step towards large offshore HVDC grids (e.g.multi-vendor MultiTerminal HVDC (MT HVDC) systems, grid forming converter, HVDC diode rectifiers, Modula Multilevel Converters (MMC), DC Circuit Breaker (DCCB); DC/DC converter and DC/power hub) and their control and management syste; for floating renewable energy technologies: innovative dynamic inter-device/inter-array cables and connections to converter stations at sea or offshore hubs.
• Power to X /storage systems: innovative offshore storage and/or power to X systems to maximise the use of offshore resources.

Proposals shall address at least the offshore renewable power generating systems and the related energy system integration requirements, and may address grid infrastructure and/or power to X/storage systems. Multi-functional platforms can be considered.

Proposals shall address also the following:

• Industrial design and manufacturing processes, installation methods, transport, operation & maintenance, supply chains and the related digital infrastructures.
• Circularity, regulatory, market and financial challenges.
• Marine spatial planning issues (making multi-use of the seas possible, but also considering optimising environmental impacts) as well as currently known barriers such as costs, public acceptance and vulnerability to changing climate conditions in offshore areas.

Projects are requested to demonstrate the technologies at sea while respecting existing environmental regulatory framework. The project should demonstrate that permits for the demonstration actions are already obtained or will be retrieved soon. The project should also present an environmental monitoring plan that to be implemented during the demonstration action. The project should also demonstrate how it will get a financial close for the whole action.

The project shall demonstrate how it contributes to knowledge building and innovation. Development of new knowledge, models and solutions are paramount to maximize the benefits of the energy transition, to ensure that the right choices are made, and to optimize technologies and systems.

The project has to include a clear go/no go moment ahead of entering the deployment phase. Before this go/no-go moment, the project has to deliver the detailed engineering plans, a complete business and implementation plan and all needed permits for the deployment of the array. A committee of independent experts will assess all deliverables and will give advice for the go/no-go decision.

The project shall bring the demonstrated technologies to TRL 7.

TOPIC 2: DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A 100 MW ELECTROLYSER UPSCALING THE LINK BETWEEN RENEWABLES AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

The scope of this project is to operate and install a 100 MW electrolyser to produce renewable hydrogen, as energy carrier.

Specific activities are:

• The main activity will consist of development, installation and operation a 100 MW electrolyser for managing and using efficiently power (electricity and heat), water, Hydrogen and Oxygen flows;
• Demonstrate the increased usage and economic impact of RES mix, addressing potential curtailment issues in Demand Response operation (if grid connected) or island mode functioning (if dedicated to hydrogen production);
• Operation of an electrolyser system in real life conditions in an industrial or port environment, for example feeding a mobility hub, a fertiliser production plant, a synthetic fuel production plant, a biorefinery or other industries injecting in NG transmission grid type of application.
• Investigate possibility to make use of rejected heat or vented Oxygen
• Operating pressure should be suitable for the application & any buffering / compression requirements.

Other activities will consist of economic and environmental assessments:

• Demonstration of future economic viability of the technology depending on cost of electricity and hours of operation of electrolyser;
• Reduce footprint and address safety issues;
• Evaluation of the environmental performance of the system, notably in terms of GHG emissions reduction in line with the methodology of the Renewable Energy Directive II and in terms of water consumption;
• Evaluation of other ecological and societal benefits along the value chain;
• Project should ensure European value chain by building on technology and business concepts developed by European companies.

Mandatory knowledge sharing activity:

• Cross border dimension and knowledge sharing within Europe: as part of mandatory activities, organise 3 workshops, out of which 2 in European countries, outside of the beneficiary’s main implantation, involving policy makers and energy stakeholders, to share knowledge on experience gathered and replication of experiences

Disclaimer: The presentation of draft topics and the feedback provided shall in under no circumstances bind the European Commission in the final formulation of topics for the call. The binding call text will be published following the formal decision by the European Commission on the Funding and tender opportunities portal. (Source: https://ec.europa.eu/)