Proposed Humber Bank neighbours Pensana and Equinor have signed an agreement to recycle end-of-life wind turbine nacelles.
A working group is to be formed to share technical and commercial information to develop a hydrogen-focused low energy method at the £100 million rare earth hub now being developed.
The potential was fist outlined as part of Humber Business Week last June.
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It comes just days after proposals for H2H Saltend, a hydrogen production facility also on the PX Group-owned site, was submitted to the government’s latest cluster sequencing round.
Paul Atherley, Pensana’s chairman, said: “We are establishing a world-class, independent and sustainable, rare earth processing facility at Saltend Chemicals Park. We are also looking to process end-of-life magnets from wind turbine nacelles using hydrogen’s properties as a powerful reductant.
“We very much look forward to working with Equinor using hydrogen from the H2H Saltend project in establishing this innovative process route as a key component in the circular economy for rare earth magnets in the UK.”
The partnership with the Norwegian energy major will support Pensana’s focus on an “addressable” annual market of 4,000 tonnes of end-of-life permanent magnets.
Mr Atherley said recycling permanent magnets utilising hydrogen not as fuel, but as a reductant, whilst benefiting from the decarbonised power supply within Saltend, offers a clean alternative using 88 per cent less energy than virgin magnet manufacture. He said it aligns with Pensana's continued efforts to produce a sustainable supply chain for these critical materials, while also mining for new minerals in Angola and shipping to the Humber.
As reported, Equinor’s hydrogen production plans have the backing of six potential users, with Pensana joining Centrica, Ineos, Triton Power, Vivergo and Vital Energi. There are plans to widen further with SSE at Keadby and others interested should the Zero Carbon Humber dual pipeline featuring carbon capture and hydrogen become a reality.
It is the central pillar to the transformation of the UK’s most polluting industrial cluster, with the potential set out to become a global leader in decarbonisation.
Tanguy Cosmao, Equinor’s project director for H2H Saltend, said: “We are delighted to be working with Pensana and other companies in the local area on the potential use of Equinor’s low carbon hydrogen to reduce the emissions from their industrial processes.
"The H2H Saltend project offers the opportunity for major local employers to fuel switch away from natural gas, enabling the transition towards greener technologies and helping to kick-start a hydrogen economy in the Humber.”
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