Humber Freeport chair Simon Bird has welcomed Meld Energy’s £180 million hydrogen production plans for Saltend.
The selected site on the former East Hull BP industrial plant, now a multi-user facility owned and operated by PX Group, sits in the allocated zone, with the potential investment revealed earlier this month.
It was announced as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's trade mission to the US, due to the British start-up being heavily backed by a US Fortune 500 constituent. Meld Energy was flagged as a highlight in a £14 billion UK investment package committed during his Washington DC visit.
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Mr Bird, who is the regional director for ABP - the port operator and lead body behind the successful freeport bid - continues to work with the local authorities to get it over the line with Westminster officials, having welcomed Mr Sunak to the Humber previously. As chancellor, he was the architect of the freeport movement, with tax and financial incentives packaged up.
“The recent announcement from Meld Energy highlights the strength of investment opportunities available in the Humber region, Mr Bird said. “The region’s existing advantages are enhanced further by the many benefits to businesses offered by the Humber Freeport. It adds up to a tremendously powerful proposition to investors.
“We’re delighted Meld Energy has chosen the Humber as its investment destination of choice, adding to the world-leading cluster of renewables and low carbon energy businesses already in the region.”
As reported, Meld - led by former GE executive Chris Smith - secured a 50 per cent equity backing from global energy management company World Fuel Services Corporation late last year, via its subsidiary World Kinect Sustainability Ventures. They are working on hydrogen supply chains.
If built today it would be the largest green hydrogen production plant in the UK, with electrolysis as the chosen method. The Saltend site would initially produce 100MW, with the infrastructure scalable. Total investment could hit £200 million plus.
North Lincolnshire Council deputy chief executive Simon Green has recently taken on the responsibility for getting the freeport over the line, describing it as a "powerful economic catalyst". Announced as one of eight freeport status locations in the 2021 Budget, the Government confirmed the final business case had conditional approval in March, days after a late push in Westminster to underline the potential. Embracing all local authority areas around the Humber, a comprehensive package of measures will be on offer to investors, including tax reliefs, customs incentives, business rates retention, planning, regeneration, innovation and trade and investment support.
