Grid-independent, modular and seaworthy: the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and its partners aim to produce synthetic fuels from wind energy, seawater, and ambient air on a floating platform as part of the H2Mare project PtX-Wind. A modular facility has been installed on a barge and is ready for operation in Bremerhaven.
On 8 July 2025, the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space officially opened the world’s first floating demonstration platform showcasing a complete Power-to-X process chain for synthetic fuel production. Later this year, it will begin producing fuel directly at sea, off the coast of Helgoland.
‘We want to test the entire planning process – from permitting and construction to operation – in a real-world setting, so that we can develop concepts for building larger production platforms,’ says Professor Roland Dittmeyer, Director of the Institute for Micro Process Engineering at KIT and coordinator of the PtX-Wind project, during the launch in Bremerhaven.
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Fuel from wind, water and air
To produce synthetic fuels, the novel modular facility uses wind energy, seawater, and ambient air. The H2Mare demonstration platform is equipped with a Direct Air Capture (DAC) unit to extract CO2 from the atmosphere, a seawater desalination system, and a high-temperature electrolysis unit for generating hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. This gas is then used in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, which converts green hydrogen and CO2 into fuel.
The modular structure allows for dynamic, off-grid operation of the entire process chain, adapting to the availability of renewable electricity from offshore wind turbines.
Offshore deployment
Testing of the platform will begin this month, initially in Bremerhaven port and later in open waters off Helgoland. In addition to testing the flexible operation of the entire process chain, researchers aim to investigate maritime conditions, material properties, and regulatory requirements in real-world, off-grid conditions. The findings will inform the development of larger production platforms that can be directly coupled with offshore wind turbines.
Alongside offshore synthetic fuel production, the PtX-Wind project is also exploring other Power-to-X synthesis routes. At KIT, researchers are investigating the production of liquid methane, methanol, and ammonia.
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H2Mare and PtX-Wind
H2Mare is one of three hydrogen lead projects funded by the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The project focuses on offshore production of green hydrogen and other Power-to-X products using wind energy. Through its research, H2Mare contributes to the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy.
In the PtX-Wind subproject, KIT is working with scientific and industrial partners to convert green hydrogen produced offshore into derivatives – follow-on products such as synthetic fuels. The demonstration platform was developed by KIT in collaboration with H2Mare partners: the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Technical University of Berlin.
Picture: Floating platform with modular container unit for offshore production of synthetic fuels using wind energy, seawater and ambient air (photo by H2Mare, supplied by KIT).
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