A new hydrogen power plant planned for Carrington is expected to be ready by late 2024 at the earliest, it has been confirmed. Trafford Green Hydrogen, a project run by Carlton Power, is seeking planning permission from Trafford and Salford councils to build what would be the largest hydrogen production unit in the UK.
The facility would use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen fuel for transport and heating. It is hoped that this will help the Government reach their target of being net zero by 2050.
This is a technology which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and would see an annual production of hydrogen estimated at 1,000 tonnes.
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The estimate of eight jobs in the planning proposal is only in relation to the initial production site and not further expansion. Further development would see hydrogen storage facilities built and further jobs created.
The proposed development comprises the construction and operation of a 10MW hydrogen production facility at the Trafford Power Station site. Further electrolyser units would be constructed as demand for hydrogen increases.
Eric Adams, project lead for Trafford Green Hydrogen, said: "There has been a material shift in opinion since we started looking at this 18 months ago.
"A lot of people we have spoken to in terms of hydrogen initially said they have not looked at it because they didn't know it was an option. This has changed with the development of this scheme which is enabling businesses in Greater Manchester to take concrete action towards meeting Net Zero targets.
"We can now say that we will be able to provide this from late 2024, early 2025 subject to the recently announced Hydrogen Investment Package issued by the Government. This means that hydrogen will be a real alternative to natural gas.
"The level of engagement we have had has increased since we could tell them how it would be greener and more cost effective for them."
Trafford Green Hydrogen is part of the Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park which includes the largest liquid air energy storage scheme in Europe and one of the largest battery storage schemes in the UK. It is hoped that this will help businesses in Greater Manchester benefit from greener and more efficient power.
The site is bound by the former quarry with plans for the hydrogen production plans, Carrington Power Station to the north, greenfield land to the east, Saica Paper Mill to the south, and the Manchester Ship Canal to the west. Even though Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council have the final say on the decision for approval, they are currently in consultation with Salford City Council as the site lies on the edge of the Salford-Trafford border.
This proposal is one of many put forward across the country by Carlton Power who are looking to provide an answer to the UK's reliance on fossil fuels. They believe this encompasses the Government's long-term plan to revolutionise the energy industry.
“Working with industry, our ambition is for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy,” the Government's UK Hydrogen Strategy (published in August 2021) said. “This could produce hydrogen equivalent to the amount of gas consumed by over 3 million households in the UK each year.
“This new, low carbon hydrogen could help provide cleaner energy to power our economy and our everyday lives – from cookers to distilleries, film shoots to power plants, waste trucks to steel production, and 40 tonne diggers to the heat in our homes. Meeting our ambition means a rapid ramp up of production and use of hydrogen over the coming decade.”
