China has floated the world’s first semi-submersible offshore wind-to-hydrogen platform in Jiangmen, south China’s Guangdong Province, marking a step forward in harnessing marine renewable energy.

Developed by China International Marine Containers (CIMC), the Shenhai Hydrogen Energy No. 1 platform is designed to convert offshore wind power directly into hydrogen at sea, offering an alternative to transmitting electricity to shore through undersea cables.

Its integrated systems combine water electrolysis for hydrogen production with methanol production and hydrogen storage. The approach could help reduce long-distance power transmission losses and overcome challenges in connecting deep-sea wind farms to the electricity grid.

The platform has completed onshore commissioning of its process systems and will soon head to waters off Danzhou City in south China’s Hainan Province, for offshore deployment and testing.