Lagerwey to build wind turbine that produces hydrogen
Dutch wind turbine manufacturer Lagerwey said it will build a wind turbine that stores excess energy as hydrogen. Lagerwey has partnered with hydrogen supplier Hygro and research institute ECN to incorporate electrolysis technology into its 4.8 MW turbine. Once completed in 2019, the turbine will produce hydrogen for the Duwaal project, which aims to create sustainable hydrogen for at least five hydrogen fuel stations and 100 hydrogen trucks.
Dutch wind turbine manufacturer Lagerwey said today it will build a wind turbine that will produce hydrogen, the first of its kind in the world, together with hydrogen supplier Hygro.

The project also involves research institute ECN, which will host the turbine on its wind turbine testing field at Wieringerwerf in the Dutch province of North Holland. The plan is for the turbine to be completed at the start of 2019. It will be a 4.8-MW Lagerwey wind turbine that will incorporate electrolysis technology.

Lagerwey said the integration of the two technologies will allow many components to be omitted, leading to “cheaper, more efficient and more robust” hydrogen production.

The wind turbine will produce hydrogen for the Duwaal project, an initiative of a Hygro-led consortium, which aims to create sustainable hydrogen production and distribution for at least five hydrogen fuel stations and 100 hydrogen trucks simultaneously.

Lagerwey said that transporting hydrogen by pipeline is cheaper than transporting electricity by cable and also pipelines serve as a buffer, avoiding the supply-demand imbalances related to “regular” wind and solar power. The project is therefore expected to provide insights into future energy infrastructure.

"In the future, wind turbines will ideally be connected up to a hydrogen gas network rather than an electricity grid," the company said.

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