Norway-based H2 Carrier (H2C) is the designer and owner of the proprietary floating energy production and storage system P2XFloater™, an industrial scale floating green hydrogen and green ammonia facility. The innovative P2X Floater has been developed and designed by H2C together with leading maritime and engineering companies in Norway. H2C very recently entered into a partnership with Larsen & Toubro as its global EPCIC partner. T&D India got in touch with Marten Lunde, CEO, H2 Carrier to understand the technicalities of the “P2XFloater” and its commercial advantages, as well as the dynamics of H2C’s partnership with L&T. Lunde asserts that when it comes to delivering complex projects in a credible manner, H2C cannot think of a better partner than L&T. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
Let us start with a basic question regarding the partnership with L&T. Will L&T be the EPCIC partner for projects in India or for other parts in the world also?
The agreement is intended to work globally.
Will L&T be H2C’s exclusive EPCIC partner?
This is not an exclusive agreement for either party
As H2C’s EPCIC partner, please discuss the role that L&T would play in the partnership.
H2C will rely on L&T assisting and supporting in feasibility studies, tender processes, engineering and construction. L&T is expected to play a key role in supplying the integrated process plant to the P2X Floater.
Tell us in some detail how the “P2XFloater” works. Do we understand that green energy is taken from a solar/wind/battery power source, and the rest (production of hydrogen or ammonia) is done by “P2XFloater”?
Correct, the P2XFloater will receive electric input produced from a renewable resource and apply it to electrolyzers to split H2 and O2. Nitrogen is captured from air, and together with H2 gas, is fed into reactors to produce ammonia in a well established process called “Haber Bosch”. Green (because it is produced from a renewable resource) ammonia will be stored onboard tanks and offloaded to smaller shipping vessels which will transport the ammonia to global markets
Has “P2XFloater” been developed by H2Carrier alone or do you have technological collaborations, particularly for the catalyzer?
The innovative P2X Floater has been developed and designed by H2C together with leading maritime and top side engineering companies in Norway. We also rely on cooperation with leading suppliers of electrolyzers and ammonia reactors and L&T, which in turn, will be organized under L&T’s EPCIC role. We remain technology agnostic on electrolyzers and ammonia reactors and will continue to work with several manufacturers.
Assuming that “P2XFloater” only needs a source of electricity, can we presume that the floater can produce H2 or NH3 using conventional (non-green) fuel sources also?
In principle, yes.
From a chemistry perspective, please explain the connection between hydrogen and ammonia in the electrolyzer process. Is it that hydrogen is produced first and ammonia at the second stage?
Correct, and the reason why the end product is ammonia is as follows: Hydrogen is a challenging product to transport (liquid at –252.87 degrees Celsius), and consequently in our view, it is advantageous to consume hydrogen in geographical proximity to the place of production. Liquefaction of ammonia only requires -33.6 degrees Celsius, and hence, is much easier to transport to markets/uses for longer distances. In practice, this means we are fully capable of producing clean green ammonia from remote locations such as in India, and ship the energy to the main markets for ammonia in Japan, US/Canada and Europe.
Coming to H2C’s operations, please tell us about the countries that you are currently active in.
We are currently mainly involved in projects in Northern Europe such as Norway, Scotland, Ireland and even Greenland. This is simply because this is where we have our natural network. To an increasing extent we are now reviewing projects in Africa, Middle East and South America. The P2XFloater will operate globally and combinations of renewable resources (such as wind and solar) are very attractive due to the complementary production profiles.
Now to a technical point, how is the hydrogen/ammonia stored in the “P2XFloater” transported to the user site?
The P2X has large storage tanks in the hull designed for safe storage of ammonia. The P2XFloater will also have export systems that allow smaller vessels to come alongside and offload ammonia and transport the cargo to the market. Depending on final design and capacities such off loading to smaller vessels will take place 6-12 times per year.
What advantages does P2XFloater offer over conventional modes for production of green hydrogen/ammonia?
This is the key question and there are several advantages! Compared to a land-based ammonia plant, we can build the complete plant at a centralized yard or workshop. The complete plant will be built and then shipped to its location. This will save cost and time.
In addition, we only require a fraction of the land used by a conventional plant. A comparison of a 1GW land based plant to a 1GW P2XFloater shows that we require less than 10 per cent of the land required by a conventional plant.
And also importantly, all public processes are simplified — from planning, regulation of land, public requirements etc. The P2XFloater can easily access remote areas and renewable energy which perhaps is non-commercial due to lack of grid. Clients (and in particular financiers) also appreciate the flexibility of a floating plant. For example, if after some years, grid becomes available, then the P2XFloater can move and operate in a different location.
In which countries do you see high potential for “P2XFloater”? How do rate opportunities in your home country Norway?
Opportunities are global and combination of different renewable resources particularly attractive for off grid operations. Norway also offers some opportunities due to the fact that the north of the country has very limited capacity for power exchange with our main national grid. The P2XFloater can in practice become the “export cable” carrying energy from the energy-surplus north to markets in the energy-deficient south.
How do you see the partnership with L&T furthering “P2XFloater” in the global market?
The energy markets consist of some very large companies. Therefore we need to partner with suppliers that have the size and resources and with the reputation to deliver large and complex projects in a credible manner. We have developed the P2XFloater based on technologies, operations and risk management systems developed within oil & gas. We will transfer best practice from oil & gas to the renewable segment, but we simply cannot transfer the cost culture if we want to develop sustainable decarbonizing solutions without permanent public sector funding. Therefore, we need to think big, drive scale and synergies and drive costs down. We cannot think of a better partner than L&T to work with for this process.
