Multi-purpose marine infrastructure : The outlook of M4 solutions and a case study of offshore hydrogen production
Multi-purpose offshore infrastructure has emerged as a way of sustainably providing demands for critical services in marine and coastal environments due to the possibility of integrating different marine activities in the same space. This study focuses on marine, multifunctional, modular, and mobile...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/397066 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/397066 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Offshore structure -- Design and construction -- Economic aspects Offshore wind power plants -- Design and construction -- Economic aspects Hydrogen as fuel -- Construction -- Planning Marine multi-purpose multi-use offshore energy wind energy hydrogen barriers technoeconomic analysis levelized cost of hydrogen Ambiente marinho multiusos energia energia eólica hidrogénio barreiras análise tecnoeconómica custo nivelado do hidrogénio Illes artificials -- Disseny i construcció -- Aspectes econòmics Hidrogen com a combustible -- Fabricació -- Planificació Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Energia eòlica::Parcs eòlics |
| Sumario: | Multi-purpose offshore infrastructure has emerged as a way of sustainably providing demands for critical services in marine and coastal environments due to the possibility of integrating different marine activities in the same space. This study focuses on marine, multifunctional, modular, and mobile (M4) solutions, with the aim of understanding the outlook, opportunities, and barriers that industry led M4 projects face. Additionally, it has the goal to determine which use combinations are the most promising and evaluating them from a technical and economic perspective. A mixed methods approach, including a systematic review of online information and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, was employed. Additionally, a case study on the combination of offshore wind energy and hydrogen production was conducted by means of a technoeconomic analysis. 30 projects were identified worldwide, primarily combining offshore wind energy with sectors such as wave energy, offshore floating solar energy, aquaculture, and hydrogen production. Hydrogen production emerged as the most prevalent combination. Most projects are in the concept or pilot testing phase and stakeholders have a strong focus on demonstration to showcase successful technology integration. The lack of an enabling regulatory environment is cited as the main barrier as existing regulations do not account for multiple use of marine space. Offshore hydrogen production from offshore wind shows significant promise due to hydrogen’s role as an energy carrier, and the case study shows that the LCOH decreases with wind farm size and that centralized offshore hydrogen production, with transmission to shore via pipeline yields the lowest LCOH among the studied configurations. Overall, overcoming regulatory barriers and developing clear frameworks are essential for successful implementation of M4s. Incentives are crucial to supporting large- scale projects and advancing technology readiness. Future research should focus on small-scale M4 projects for remote communities, addressing regulatory gaps, and comparing hydrogen-based and electricity-based systems in end-to-end cost analyses |
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