To support cost-effective renewable energy production far out at sea there is a need for O&M support, efficient and safe energy conversion, transport and storage of renewable energy. The Joint Industry Project HybridEnerSeaHub aims to fulfil those needs with a comprehensive design of a partially floating energy hub in the North Sea.

The possibility of using floating modules will be investigated to support the functionality of the energy island in every stage of its life cycle. This modular approach could make the island more adaptive to the needs of future activities such as floating workshops, and storage facilities can easily be attached and relocated in the different stages of the offshore developments. This is an advantage since investments only need to be made when needed and the floating facilities can be re-deployed elsewhere once it has served the project’s needs. Furthermore, a partially floating island may have a smaller impact on the sea life and surroundings than a large permanent reclaimed island. On the other hand motion requirements and mooring loads will possibly set a practical limitation for a floating island on the North Sea. Therefore a combination of floating modules connected to a reclaimed island will be investigated.