Equinor’s hydrogen production hopes for the Humber have been submitted to government - backed by six potential users.
The Norwegian energy giant is looking to bring H2H Saltend forward, entering it into the government’s latest competitive cluster sequencing process.
Initially supplying the likes of Ineos, Centrica, Pensana, Triton Power, Vivergo and Vital Energi is seen as enabling a world first and a catalyst for the Humber to achieve net zero.
Read more: Humber hydrogen storage progress as Equinor and SSE aim to fuel 'international beacon' of low carbon
It would produce 600MW of low carbon hydrogen, with potential to triple output already mooted.
Linking in with carbon capture and storage, it is the second element of a dual pipeline network under the Zero Carbon Humber initiative. Together they are seen as the key to transforming the region’s status from the UK’s most concentrated industrial polluter to a global decarbonisation leader.
The submission has also been accompanied by 23 letters of support from MPs, local authorities, LEPs, business, trade and educational groups and institutions.
Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president of Equinor, said: “We are delighted to submit our formal plans to government for our flagship H2H Saltend project, as well as three other low carbon projects across the UK. This shows the strength of ambition from Equinor in the UK, building on its considerable experience of similar projects internationally.
“H2H Saltend is an exciting ground-breaking project which will provide low carbon hydrogen to multiple industries in the Humber by 2026, and the demand for this is clear from the industrial operators’ agreements we already have in place. Importantly, it is also a major step to a wider hydrogen economy which can reduce emissions across several sectors, act as a catalyst for greater inward investment and economic growth, and working with our partners, also ultimately result in a zero carbon Humber.”
In October the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that the East Coast Cluster, of which Zero Carbon Humber is the largest regional industrial cluster, was one of two successful national bids in Phase One of its cluster sequencing process. This opened the door for individual projects, with the birds now in. Results are expected around May 2022.
Equinor has also submitted alongside SSE Thermal for power stations at Keadby and Peterhead, as well as the Net Zero Teesside Power project which is developed in partnership with BP. On the South Bank, the Humber Zero Immingham industrial cluster-focused carbon capture project has also been put forward.
Switching from gas to hydrogen would lead to a 30 per cent reduction in emissions in the cluster around the Saltend site - with the company behind much of the UK’s supply of the former on board.
Centrica Storage operates the Easington gas storage site in East Yorkshire and offshore platforms in the North Sea, with a desire to cut emissions.
Martin Scargill, managing director of Centrica Storage Ltd, said: “Centrica is the UK’s largest energy supplier and we are committed to being a net zero business by 2045 and helping our customers be net zero by 2050. Fuel switching our operations at Easington to hydrogen would provide a unique opportunity to make a step-change reduction in our emissions, whilst also paving the way to provide large-scale, flexible, low carbon energy storage solutions for the UK “
Rough, off the East Yorkshire coast, is one of two huge storage plans in the Humber - with SSE and Equinor behind the underground Aldbrough transformation plans too.
Vital Energi is the latest to join the cluster. Chief strategy officer of the energy generation, distribution and supply company, Nick Gosling, said: “Vital has been selected as the energy services provider by Hull Eco Park Limited - the developer of Yorkshire Energy Park.- a new development which has a vision to become one of the first zero carbon business parks in the UK, providing up to 2,090 full time jobs when fully operational.
“The park’s energy centre will use hydrogen as a fuel to generate the majority of the low carbon electricity, heat and cooling needs of the park tenants.”
Land deal agreed as Saltend tenants underline hydrogen hunger
The bid, made just ahead of the government’s submission deadline day, coincides with the signing of a land deal between Equinor and PX Group, owner and operator of Saltend Chemicals Park.
It confirms the project location, with core off-takers also on the site.
Existing operators Ineos, Triton Power and Vivergo are joined by inward-investing Pensana in backing the bid as potential hydrogen users.
Ineos Acetyls supplies chemicals for a wide range of downstream industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, paints, adhesives and packaging.
Using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels within its processes can reduce its emissions and produce lower carbon chemicals for wider use in the economy or for export.
David Brooks, chief executive, said: “As a business with a long tradition of developing lower carbon solutions, Ineos Acetyls is proud to back Zero Carbon Humber’s efforts to build the world’s first net zero industrial cluster and help make the region competitive for generations to come. We believe that achieving net zero by 2050 is only possible by significantly increasing the use of hydrogen, making the H2H Saltend project a critical component of the cluster strategy.”
Triton Power operates Saltend Power Station, currently natural gas-fired and providing power and steam primarily to the park tenants. By switching from fossil fuels to low carbon hydrogen it can accelerate the decarbonisation of the park and its other users, having been flagged as a critical partner since the project was first revealed in July 2020.
Mick Farr, president of Triton Power, said: “Triton Power’s highly efficient combined heat and power station at Saltend stands ready to convert to a hydrogen blended fuel, and ultimately to accommodate 100 per cent hydrogen.
“This will significantly reduce CO2 emissions from thermal power generation, which remains a vital component of the varied energy mix needed to enable security of supply through the energy transition; providing power when renewables are not generating, and grid stability when they are.
“We believe this low-risk conversion project utilising proven technology can be the key enabler to kick-start a world leading UK hydrogen economy, and to decarbonise the hard to abate industrial consumers of our power and steam at the chemicals park.”
Vivergo Fuels is gearing up to restart production of renewable bioethanol fuel after E10 was finally mandated at the forecourts, having been mothballed as legislation stalled.
Ben Hackett, managing director, said: “Vivergo Fuels will be one of Europe’s largest bioethanol producers when we re-open our plant in early 2022, and we are looking forward to collaborating with Equinor to assess the potential use of hydrogen as a low carbon alternative fuel to natural gas at our plant.”
Pensana is in the process of establishing a magnet metal supply chain with a rare earth separation plant at Saltend, having also recently signed up with PX Group. Hydrogen has been identified as key to low energy processing of end-of-life magnets to recover and then reuse critical rare earths.
Paul Atherley, chairman, said: “We are establishing a world-class, independent and sustainable, rare earth processing facility at the Saltend Chemicals Park. We are also looking to process end-of-life magnets from wind turbine nacelles using an innovative hydrogen decrepitation process. We very much look forward to working with Equinor using hydrogen from the H2H Saltend project, not as a fuel, but in establishing this innovative process route as a key component in the circular economy for rare earth magnets in the UK.”
Beyond the initial off-takers, Equinor said the low carbon hydrogen could also be used much wider, helping to decarbonise multiple sectors such as heavy industry, transport, heating and pharmaceuticals across the Humber region.
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