TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with RWE to acquire a 50% stake in the OranjeWind offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

Clean energy generated by the wind farm will be used for powering TotalEnergies’ 350MW electrolyser projects, which produce 40,000t of green hydrogen per year.

The electrolyser projects, with 350MW capacity, are integral to TotalEnergies' plan to decarbonise its European refineries' hydrogen production and cut CO₂ emissions by 5m tonnes annually by 2030.

The initiative is expected to replace the hydrogen currently used in the refineries, avoiding roughly 400,000t of CO₂ emissions each year.

TotalEnergies' investment in OranjeWind is in line with its broader goal to achieve a 40% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions from its oil and gas operations by 2030, compared to 2015 levels.

OranjeWind project, 53km offshore the Netherlands, was secured by RWE in the 2022 Dutch Hollandse Kust West VII tender.

TotalEnergies refining and chemicals president Bernard Pinatel stated: “We are delighted to working with RWE, a major player in renewables, on a project that will enable us to develop the production of green hydrogen, which we need to decarbonise our refineries in northern Europe.

“This integrated, innovative project perfectly illustrates our pioneering role in the energy transition in Europe, especially through the emergence of offshore wind power linked to green hydrogen electrolysers in the Netherlands.”

Construction is set to begin in 2026, with the wind farm fully operational by early 2028.

In June 2024 TotalEnergies and EnBW won a $3.2bn German offshore wind site auction, gaining the rights to develop wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5GW.