9 April 2025
At WindEurope 2025, Dr Steve Freeman presented his industry research on “Future-proofing planning for offshore wind-to-green hydrogen deployment” to a packed audience.
The study surveyed 50 leading experts from around the world and across a diverse range of sectors – including policymakers, regulators, legal professionals, industry bodies, advisory firms and project developers – to understand the complex planning and permitting challenges shaping the future of offshore wind-to-hydrogen integration.
Before the presentation, conference discussions echoed renewed calls for energy security and resilience, with a strong consensus emerging among senior political and industry leaders on the future of offshore wind:
These are precisely the conditions Freeman explored in his presentation and panel discussion: “Wind-to-Hydrogen Systems: Design to Deployment”.
Freeman’s research drew on more than 140 literature sources, insights from industry leaders and a mix of interviews and case studies. Together, these revealed 19 key barriers across policy, regulation and permitting that slow future the transition from strategy to deployment.
“We’re facing a planning paradox – the more barriers we try to unlock, the more friction we encounter.” Dr Freeman explained. “These barriers are interdependent, and they don’t respond well to siloed fixes or linear solutions.”
He described the policy-to-permitting landscape as a “planning honeycomb” – a system of complex, interconnected barriers that are creating friction in scaling offshore wind-to-green hydrogen projects. “And like a hive, it only functions when its structure is coherent and coordinated.”
Understanding the behaviour of the “hive” is key to unlock the system’s full potential.
“We need to optimise planning through better coordination, clearer execution pathways and more adaptive regulation – aligned with real-world deployment needs,” said Dr Freeman.
The findings are globally applicable to the offshore wind sector more broadly – even when hydrogen isn’t part of the equation. They resonate strongly with current market conditions:
This context underscores the urgency of improving planning and permitting systems to enable the integration of offshore renewables, electrolysis and gas grid infrastructure at scale.
Big thank you to fellow panellists and session hosts for the rich and engaging discussion: Katrine Hilmen (ABB), Marija Dabrisiute (WindEurope), Elin Steinsland (HydePoint), Davies (OWC) and Vervoort (IWES).
The full paper will be published shortly.
