The European Union wants to build 40 gigawatts of green hydrogen electrolyzers by 2030 and estimates that 80 to 120 gigawatts of solar and wind will be needed to power them. That’s a new headache for Europe’s grid operators. Decarbonization is expected to double the demand for electricity as transport and heat are also electrified. Taking hydrogen production off the power grid could be a win-win solution to these problems. That’s the idea behind plans for what's termed "islanded" hydrogen, which would pair electrolyzers with offshore wind farms and send hydrogen molecules, rather than electrons, back to shore. The AquaVentus consortium, led by German utility RWE, is exploring the deployment of up to 10 GW of islanded green hydrogen by 2035, with the island of Heligoland serving as a central hub. That makes it the largest green hydrogen proposal on the drawing board thus far. Other AquaVentus partners include Siemens Energy, Vattenfall, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and Shell.