The increasing deoxygenation of the planet’s oceans and seas, a consequence of global warming and pollution, poses an urgent challenge for marine life. To reverse this situation, faster strategies are needed than traditional ones, such as reducing emissions or limiting discharges. Among the emerging solutions, artificial reoxygenation, also known as green hydrogen, stands out, a technique that seeks to inject oxygen into the most affected waters.
Lhyfe, a European company specializing in green hydrogen, leads one of the most promising projects: using the oxygen generated during offshore hydrogen production to reoxygenate the oceans. This approach, called BOxIn, is being developed in collaboration with the University of Stockholm, Flexens, and the United Nations.
The project plans to utilize the oxygen resulting from the electrolysis process, through which hydrogen and oxygen molecules are separated from water using renewable energy. The facilities will be located next to offshore wind farms. The Baltic Sea will be the testing ground to analyze the effects of oxygen injection through diffuser systems, a technique previously used in freshwater.
Why Reoxygenate the Oceans?
Marine deoxygenation, or hypoxia, is a growing problem linked to pollution and climate change. Common measures to address it, such as reducing CO₂ emissions and limiting nutrients, are slow processes and, in some cases, insufficient. According to Patricia Handmann, scientific advisor at Lhyfe, there is no immediate solution to reverse this situation, making it essential to explore alternatives like reoxygenation.
This method offers a scalable and specific solution for areas where natural recovery is extremely slow or unfeasible, allowing to restore the necessary conditions for marine life.
Risks and Challenges
Although promising, reoxygenation carries risks, such as localized overoxygenation, which could destabilize ecosystems. Therefore, Lhyfe collaborates with oceanography experts and research centers like the French CNRS to ensure that projects are implemented with scientific rigor and methodology.
The BOxIn project, supported by the United Nations within its Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development by 2024, will be developed in phases over six years. During this time, environmental impacts will be evaluated, and the technique will be refined.
Could It Be Applied to the Mar Menor?
Asked about the possible usefulness of this technique for the Mar Menor, severely affected by eutrophication and seasonal hypoxia, Handmann pointed out that reoxygenation could be considered only after implementing prior measures, such as reducing nutrients and using biological methods like buffer zones or seagrass meadows.
While this technique is not a singular solution to complex issues like those in the Mar Menor, its potential to mitigate hypoxia and restore marine ecosystems opens up new possibilities to address environmental challenges in different regions.
Innovation in the use of green hydrogen could not only transform the energy industry, but also become a vital tool to protect and restore our oceans.
What Is Green Hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is a clean and sustainable fuel produced from water electrolysis, using renewable energy:
- It is a simple chemical element that does not emit polluting gases when releasing energy.
- It can be used in industrial processes, heavy mobility, or as an energy storage system.
- It is an alternative to decarbonize sectors of the economy that are difficult to electrify, such as maritime or air transport.
Green hydrogen is produced by separating hydrogen from oxygen in water, and the resulting oxygen can be released into the atmosphere or used as a byproduct. The electrolyzer also generates heat that can be used for heating.
This alternative is an abundant element in the universe and is found in water, ammonia, and hydrocarbons. To use it as fuel, it needs to be separated from other molecules, which requires a lot of energy and is costly. However, it can become one of the solutions to reduce polluting gas emissions and fight against climate change.
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