Offshore Energy Hubs as an Emerging Concept: Sector Integration at Sea

Offshore energy hubs (OEHs), also often called energy islands, are dis-cussed as becoming a key component of the energy transition in the Nordic and Baltic region and for Western and Central Europe. The idea involves the construction of production and conversion hubs far out at sea, where the wind energy potential is very high. Following the several European initiatives’ visions (see North Sea Wind Power Hub, 2021) and a decision by the Danish Parliament (see Energistyrelsen, 2021), the idea is to create an artificial hub in European waters at a central location in areas of high renewable energy production—mainly offshore wind. OEHs are a new concept in the energy sector, and there is not yet extensive expertise and knowledge about them. Key questions surround optimal design, technol-ogy mix and connectivity, regulation, market design, and business models. This thesis develops three articles to answer two main research questions to contribute to the discussion on OEHs: (1) What are the main tech-nological, environmental, economic, and societal drivers and challenges for the development of offshore energy hubs, and what is their impact on offshore electrolysis?, and (2) how do system configuration and market design influence the value of electrolysis on offshore energy hubs?