The duo are seeking to deepen their 25 year relationship around the compound of nitrogen & hydrogen.

Global demand for ammonia is estimated to grow to more than 600 million metric tonnes by 2050 due in part to its greater ease of storage and transport when compared with pure hydrogen.  Operators of industrial processes, plus power generators and shipping lines are looking with increased interest at the compound.  Its low carbon variant is predicted to meet two-thirds of ammonia demand by mid-century, implying an estimated market size for low carbon ammonia of over $200 billion then.

Johnson Matthey reckons its patented LCH^TM technology captures as much as 99% of the CO2 released in producing ammonia.  Combined with JM’s autothermal reformer, or in conjunction with JM’s gas heated reformer, the LCH method has been selected for early and prestigious blue hydrogen projects such as BP’s 700-megawatt H2Teesside hydrogen plant, and the 600-megawatt H2H Saltend project undertaken with Equinor and German company Linde.

Thyssenkrupp Uhde brings to the partnership its unique uhde^® dual pressure technology.

The firm’s heritage includes licensing, engineering or building more than 130 ammonia plants worldwide since 1928. It says it leads the market in bigger plants, those producing more than 3,000 tonnes per day.

For Johnson Matthey, its managing director of CT licensing Alberto Giovanzana said: “We know multiple routes are needed in the energy transition. Ammonia provides several options because it can be used directly in power and shipping industries, and as a hydrogen carrier to safely transport hydrogen to areas it is not easy to produce.

“Combining our expertise and over two decades worth of partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde, we are excited to offer this technology which will allow our customers to produce ammonia with significantly lower CO2 emissions.”

Thyssenkrupp Uhde’s chief operating officer Lucretia Löscher said: “We are committed to our purpose, ‘we create a livable planet’. With this strong partnership we further broaden our portfolio of climate-friendly solutions and can help our customers even better to reach their sustainability goals.”

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in December the ministry also cancelled progression of a village-scale hydrogen trial at Winlaton near Redcar, pictured.

Officials now believe the low carbon gas, in either its fossil-fuel-derived blue hue, or the cleaner green variety electrolysed with wind-generated electricity, may have a role to play in heat decarbonisation, but in slower time and in only ‘some’ locations.

D-ESNZ plans to take a final decision in 2026, after assessing evidence including from a neighbourhood-scale hydrogen trial in Fife and other studies across Europe.

Britain’s four main operators of gas networks have lobbied Whitehall hard for hydrogen to be viewed as a panacea, a high convenience, low cost replacement for methane-heavy, climate-wrecking ‘natural’ gas in Britain’s 30 million homes.

In October 2022, the then D-BEIS ministry invited the four to commit to operational trials, leading to mass deployment.  All four responded with business plans.

But the hydrogen drive had been opposed as impractical, manipulative and still polluting by advocates for electric heat.

One immediately welcomed Whitehall’s backtracking yesterday.  James Standley, chief technical officer of Truro-based Kensa, Britain’s only manufacturer of heat pumps, and a company part-owned by Octopus Energy,  said abandoning the village-scale trial was “further recognition that hydrogen has no major role to play in future home heating”.

“Every academic study on the issue, the economics and the physics demonstrates this”, Standley went on. “The government should now take the next logical step and rule out hydrogen heating for anything other than a small number of very specific cases.

Electrification, whether via heat pumps or heat networks, remains the best and quickest way to achieve clean heat while ensuring the best outcomes for consumers, Standley opined.

“The longer hydrogen remains part of the conversation”, the Kensa boss said, “the further the transition will be delayed, hampering the speed at which these already proven technologies are rolled out.”

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Originally developed by Shell Oil, Stanlow at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire began in 1924 – pictured – as a production site for bitumen, also blending and cleaning imported crude oil. It is now among the UK’s largest and most complex refineries, processing 10 million tonnes of crude each year.

Following its purchase in 2011 by Essar Oil UK, since re-branded as EET Fuels Ltd, Stanlow has received major investment, advancing the owners’ ambitions to make it the world’s first low carbon refinery, and among the globe’s biggest hubs for steam-cleaning fossil fuels into “blue” hydrogen.

EET Fuels, controlled by billionaire brothers Prashant and Ravi Ruia, today announced its non-specific intention for forthcoming events in celebration, including donations to charities community groups. Details will be released in coming weeks.

EET chairman Prashant Ruia commented: “For a century, Stanlow has kept Britain moving.

“We are immensely proud of the refinery’s heritage and its unwavering commitment to supplying high-quality products and fuels safely and reliably. We want to recognise the thousands of colleagues who made this happen.

“The Stanlow story is only just beginning. The massive transition strategy we are implementing, with the ambition of making Stanlow the world’s first low carbon refinery, as well as the UK’s leading producer of hydrogen as part of the HyNet consortium, is set to re-position Stanlow and the North West of England for the next 100 years and beyond.”

Manufacturing has taken place at Stanlow since 1924, first of bitumen and specialist solvents. Aviation spirit was added to the output during World War 2.

Recognising the importance of refineries closer to customer markets, Shell in 1949 began a three-year build programme to create a fully-fledged crude oil refinery.

Essar Group acquired Stanlow in 2011, and has since invested a claimed $1 billion on improvements.

Now employing more than 700 people directly and the same total again in its local supply chain, Stanlow remains a prominent supplier to the North West’s major fuel retailers, to Manchester Airport and leading commercial airlines, and to  the region’s trains and buses.

Through HyNet and other initiatives, EET Fuels is investing $1.2 billion over the next five years to decarbonise its operations. It aims for a 95% cut in carbon emissions by 2030 through energy efficiency, carbon capture and fuel switching.  If achieved, that figure will deliver a 12.5% reduction the North West’s overall carbon emissions.

In February 2023, Essar announced a new entity Essar Energy Transition (EET) would position Stanlow as a leading hub for energy transition in the North West.  EET plans to invest US$3 billion in developing a range of low carbon energy transition projects across the site before 2029.

They include state-of-the-art ventures in industrial Carbon Capture and Hydrogen Fuel Switching, to be achieved this decade.

The Stanlow site is also home to EET Hydrogen, founded in 2022 under the name Vertex Hydrogen. EET bills the offshoot as the UK’s leading hydrogen production project. It is developing 1GW of blue hydrogen for the UK market, with follow-on capacity set to reach 3.8 GW.

More on Stanlow’s centenary here.

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A 25-year energy industry veteran, most recently at ESB, Ireland’s electricity supplier, Wallace, pictured, will run the planned CHP plant, once it is commissioned by Essar Energy Transition (EET). Before re-branding in January, EET was known as Essar Oil UK.

The plant will play a key role in both reducing emissions at Stanlow and delivering on EET’s ambition to create an energy transition hub in the North West.

Stanlow produces about 2m tonnes a year of CO2, making it the region’s biggest emitter.  The intended CHP plant is at the centre of EET’s intention to turn the complex, producer of around one-sixth of UK oil and gas, into the world’s first fully decarbonised refinery.

Led by Wallace, EET Hydrogen Power will, the group says, play a significant role in transitioning from carbon pollution. More energy efficient than current processes, the CHP -plantwill initially deliver a 13% carbon dioxide emissions reduction from the site or 180,000 tonnes per annum.

Once powered by EET Hydrogen, a reduction of 740,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be achieved, equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road.

EET Hydrogen Power will contribute to EET Fuels’ decarbonisation ambitions. It adds further fuel switching capability beyond the £45 million hydrogen-ready furnace in construction at Stanlow. Announced in 2022, the furnace is a first of a kind in the UK, and will be fuelled by EET Hydrogen.

Stanlow is the nerve centre of the government-backed HyNet hydrogen scheme. The refinery site will be home to a production hub, costing up to £3bn. It will comprise two initial hydrogen production facilities built by EET Hydrogen, itself a joint venture between refinery owner Essar Oil UK and low carbon technologists Progressive Energy.

Scheduled to be operational by late 2027, the first will make 350MW of ‘blue’ hydrogen each year, ‘scrubbed’ from hydrocarbon feedstock with high pressure steam. This will be followed a year or two later by the bigger HPP2 unit, producing 1GW per year.

EET Hydrogen is tasked to develop 1.35GW of blue hydrogen for the UK market, with follow-on capacity set to reach 4GW.

Supplying adjacent industrial buyers, the new Stanlow facility will produce ‘blue’ hydrogen for glassmaker Pilkington, consumer products giant Unilever and container manufacturer Encirc, among others.

Wallace’s most recent job was as hydrogen manager with the Irish electricity entity’s asset development team, tasked to deliver ESB’s Net Zero 2040 strategy.

Of his new position, Wallace said:  “Through its ambitious hydrogen and industrial carbon capture projects, EET has made tremendous steps to become a leading example of decarbonisation in the UK.

“I’m looking forward to working with the wider team to achieve these plans and support the region’s decarbonisation plans”

EET CEO Tony Fountain added: “We wish Rob a warm welcome to EET. He brings extensive knowledge on hydrogen and power development and will make a valuable contribution to successfully implementing our ambitious decarbonisation projects.”

The erstwhile Essar Oil UK, still controlled by brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, bought Stanlow from Shell in 2011. Despite early plans to increase its area by 25%, recent financial performance has been chequered.

Three months ago, the Guardian reported that the company, despite ceasing imports of Russian oil in 2022 in response to Putin’s attack on Ukraine, was benefitting from a $500 million line of credit extended until June this year by the trading division of Lukoil, Russia’s second biggest oil company.

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The project could capture up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) every year. As over half of the waste processed at the facility is organic, installing CCS would enable the plant to take more CO₂ out of the atmosphere than it produces.

The Welsh Government’s Carbon Budget makes clear that Wales needs carbon removal solutions to mitigate other polluting parts of the economy to achieve a Net Zero economy.

Opened in 2019 in partnership with five local authorities forming the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership (NWRWTP), Parc Adfer currently diverts up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill.

As recognised by the National Infrastructure Commission, emissions from energy from waste plants are lower per tonne of waste compared burial in land.

With CCS installed, Parc Adfer will support the Welsh Government’s ambition to have 100% zero carbon power by 2035.  Over 1,000 jobs in the green economy are anticipated while it is built.

HyNet link

The proposal has been put forward for grant support from the UK Government as part of the expansion of their ‘Track-1’ carbon capture programme.

The captured carbon will be transported using the pipeline network currently being developed in the region for the HyNet carbon capture cluster, one of the first two priority carbon capture clusters selected for development in the UK.

“To deliver Net Zero, Wales needs to find a way to produce carbon removals, or negative emissions, at scale”, said Enfinium CEO Mike Maudsley.

“Installing carbon capture at the Parc Adfer facility would transform it into the largest generator of carbon negative power in Wales, decarbonise unrecyclable waste and support the green economy in Deeside and North Wales.”

Ben Burggraaf, CEO of Net Zero Industry Wales, commented: “North-East Wales has an exciting opportunity to leverage technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen to produce the sustainable goods and services of the future. It is critical that projects like those at Parc Adfer move forward as quickly as possible to maintain our competitive advantage over other countries.”

Consenting assessments on the CCS project will commence later this year. By the summer, the UK Government is expected to provide an update on which projects are progressing through the Track-1 HyNet Expansion programme.

Besides Deeside, Enfinium has three operational sites in West Yorkshire and Kent, plus two in construction. The firm diverts 2.3 million tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill, extracting enough gas therefrom to power 500,000 UK homes.

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Hydrogen was used to refuel and power baggage tractors servicing easyJet passenger aircraft. Conducted as part of the airline’s daily operations, the trial demonstrates that the gas can be safely and reliably used to refuel ground equipment in a busy, live airport environment.

The trial, dubbed Project Acorn, was in development for over a year and involved many other leading organisations from across aviation, engineering, logistics and academia. Partners in Acorn include Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Cranfield University, Connected Places Catapult and DHL Supply Chain.

The group intends the trial as a pilot to develop industry best practice, provide guidance to airports, & airlines, local authorities and regulators on required infrastructure changes.   Establishing a regulatory framework for hydrogen’s use on an airfield is another intended benefit; hydrogen’s nascent status in aviation means this does not exist at present.

Data and insights gathered will also feed into research now conducted by industry body Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA).  Acorn also supports the ambitions of bodies such as Hydrogen South West (HSW) and the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII). The latter co-funded the year-long study.

EasyJet’s chief operating officer David Morgan observed:  “Without doubt, hydrogen will be an important fuel of the future for short-haul aviation.

“While the technology is advancing at an exciting pace, as hydrogen isn’t used in commercial aviation today, there is currently no regulatory guidance in place on how it can and should be used.

“Trials like this are very important in building the safety case and providing critical data to inform the development of the industry’s first regulatory framework. This will ensure regulation not only keeps pace with innovation, but importantly also supports the industry in meeting its decarbonisation targets by 2050.”

Tim Johnson, director for strategy for airport regulator the Civil Aviation Authority, commented: “Projects such as Acorn are cornerstones of our commitment to support innovation and decarbonisation in the industry.

“This trial will serve as the basis of a White Paper which we will also be contributing to, as well as allow for the creation of further safety guidance and regulatory standards for the use of hydrogen in aviation.

For the government, aviation minister Anthony Browne declared: “Project Acorn is a great example of the UK aviation sector pushing the boundaries of what’s possible – using leading engineering to make decarbonisation a reality from the ground operation to the planes themselves.

“They are crucial to achieving our target, set out in the Jet Zero Strategy of zero emission airport operations by 2040.”

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A £69 million injection will create the Cranfield Hydrogen Integration Incubator (CH2i).  £23 million comes from Research England, and the rest from industry partners and academic institutions.

Demand for air travel is rising. For UK passengers alone, estimates of 50% growth to 435 million by 2050 will risk breaching the government’s aviation target, its ‘Jet Zero’ goal of no net emissions a decade earlier.  No action risks leaving aviation as Britain’s largest source of carbon emissions by mid-century.

Cranfield’s CH2i will support the aviation industry to explore how to move towards the use of carbon-light hydrogen at scale.

Interest is already strong. Companies trialling the gas either as a fuel or in electricity generation range from Dale Vince’s planned EcoJet carrier to giants SW Airlines and BP.  A Cranfield offshoot is assisting Britten-Norman convert its Islander turbo-prop to hydrogen operation.

“This game-changing investment builds on Cranfield’s expertise in hydrogen research and will help the aviation industry to make the leap to using hydrogen,” said Professor Karen Holford, Cranfield’s Vice-Chancellor.

“CH2i will integrate with other large industry research areas at Cranfield including our novel hydrogen production programmes and our Aerospace Integration Research Centre and the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre.

The new body CH2i will cover

• An extended research centre, with new labs making advanced materials and testing hydrogen-based technologies. A dedicated innovation area will develop pilot demonstrators for next generation electrolysis, catalyst development and green hydrogen.
• Two separate test beds , able to support hydrogen and liquid hydrogen fuel systems, storage and propulsion system integration, including at high-readiness for commercial deployment

As Europe’s only university with its own airport, including air traffic control facilities, Cranfield has a controlled airside environment which can demonstrate, test and advance new technologies, systems and processes at scale.

One research collaboration will link into a new Centre for Doctoral Training in Net Zero Aviation at Cranfield. It will provide an environment to develop aircraft designs, production technologies, engines materials, structures, storage tanks, urgently required to speed hydrogen take-up in flight.   Input into airline practice and governments’ policies will also follow.

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The public spending watchdog lambasts today mixed signals from ministers. These, it claims, imperil their goal of 600,000 domestic installations of the devices by 2028.

Home heating represents 18% of UK carbon emissions, according to the Climate Change Committee. Its independent scientists say £162 Billion of extra investment is needed over three decades to 2050 to install low-carbon heating in the UK’s 28 million households.

The flagship Boiler Upgrade Scheme is underperforming, the NAO finds, with under 19,000 pumps installations completed between May 2022 and last December.  D-ESNZ had expected it to deliver 50,000 installations by this point.

Boosting last year the BUS grant to householders to £7,500 – roughly 60% of an average pump installation – has still left take-up running at half the rate needed, according to the NAO’s report out today.

BUS applications in January 2024 had risen nearly 40% in twelve months, the report accepts. But more data is required to determine whether that’s a just blip.

The UK’s shortage of qualified technicians also slows the market, leaving upfront costs of installation falling more slowly than Whitehall had hoped.

Fear of high usage costs are another drag in cleaning home heat, the NAO reports today. D-ESNZ delayed its planned work to reduce running costs, shifting some levies & charges from electricity to gas bills. The department says that price rebalancing remains an essential policy but is challenging.

The watchdog’s head Gareth Davies also finds D-ESNZ has no long-term plan to raise low levels of awareness among households of the steps needed to decarbonise home heating.

“DESNZ’s progress in making households aware and encouraging them to switch to low-carbon alternatives has been slower than expected”, Davies notes.

Upgrading gas grids to accept green hydrogen is one option. DESNZ is developing its understanding of the consequences for gas networks of decarbonising home heating. But trials intended to inform government’s decisions have been delayed or cancelled, says the NAO.

Stakeholders told researchers continuing uncertainty is likely to limit the ability of local authorities and industry to plan and invest, to slow progress.

The NAO recommends government considers providing more certainty on the role of hydrogen in home heating before 2026.

“The NAO is right to highlight the serious challenge posed by low consumer awareness,”  Good Energy CEO Nigel Pocklington responded.

“We commissioned Opinium research who found almost a quarter of UK residents mistakenly think that running a heat pump costs more than a gas boiler”, Pocklington said. “A fifth believe they only work in newer homes. 

The supplier’s boss declared; “We’ll continue running our own campaigns to counter the myths and misinformation.

“But the Government must step up as well, and avoid net zero being a potential ‘culture war’ issue.” 

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Rotherham based Suiso plans to create generators the size of shipping containers that ccan be placed on site to power factories, hospitals, and warehouses or at filling stations to fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Producing hydrogen where it is needed eliminates the high costs involved in distribution from a large, centralised plant, which has been one of the key barriers to adoption.  It also allows businesses that want to decarbonise their operation to start much sooner than waiting for large-scale hydrogen plants to be built.

Suiso’s process produces low-cost, low-carbon or zero-carbon energy. It uses a novel microwave technology to extract hydrogen from natural gas or biogas, while capturing the carbon in the form of carbon black, a valuable byproduct that can be used to make tyres, batteries and inks.

As existing methods of carbon black production create high levels of emissions, Suiso’s technology can help decarbonise these industries too.

A study by the former Department of Business, Energy & Industry Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that, for many key applications, Suiso’s technology is lower cost and produces lower emissions than existing production methods such as grid-powered electrolysis, and 97% lower than steam methane reforming, making it one of the greenest forms of hydrogen available.  It also uses 80% less electrical energy than electrolysis, therefore putting less stress on the grid network.

Suiso was founded by engineer and financier Stuart McKnight and serial entrepreneur Dr SB Cha, whose father invented Suiso’s microwave technology. The company was one of the winners of the BEIS Low Carbon H₂ Supply scheme in 2023.

The latest investment will enable it to scale up its technology and begin a pilot project. Ultimately it aims to produce generators that can produce 1,000 kg of hydrogen a day – equivalent to 1.6 MW of energy and enough to fuel 50 20-tonne trucks. The company, which currently employs five staff, expects to create seven new jobs in the next six months.

CEO Stuart McKnight said: “Hydrogen is rapidly emerging as a sustainable way to decarbonise the economy, but cost, availability and other practical issues have held back its use.

Our technology offers a way to overcome these and provide clean, low-cost power on site. For some organisations, Suiso’s on site hydrogen generation may be the only realistic ‘green’ option – for example, energy-intensive industrial applications such as large boilers or furnaces, heavy lifting gear or HGV and truck refuelling. This investment will help us move to the next stage on our journey to bring it to market.”

Ashwin Kumaraswamy, Investment Director with Mercia Ventures, added: “Suiso has found a way to decarbonise natural and biogas to produce ‘greener’ hydrogen than many current methods of production including grid powered electrolysis, and a zero-emission form of carbon black which is a valuable product in itself. This technology could make hydrogen a viable option for many businesses and drive rapid uptake. With growing global demand for clean energy, we are confident that Suiso will have many opportunities ahead.”

Keira Shepperson from British Business Bank said: “Suiso’s dedication to the use of greener and cleaner energy showcases it as a future-focused business, committed to helping the country meet its net-zero targets.  As it continues to prosper, we look forward to supporting it in its growth journey. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund remains dedicated to investing in innovative businesses, and particularly those striving towards a greener future.”

The current NPIF investment phase has now completed with the British Business Bank launching the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II in March 2024.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

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Developer EET Hydrogen has secured the go-ahead to develop high volume ‘scrubbing’ of oil and gas processed at the area’s Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, yielding in time up to 2.5 million tonnes of the gas for industrial clients near the site.

Besides running devices and processes on a low carbon basis for Essar’s complex, firms such as Tata Chemicals, Encirc and glassmakers Pilkington will benefit, switching to the low carbon fuel and benefitting from electricity generated on-site with the gas.

Selected by government as Britain’s biggest pioneering development cluster for steam-cleaned hydrogen, the HyNet cluster’s first elements are set to some into commercial operation by the late 2020s.

Among them will be EET Hydrogen’s two plants, to be built in sequence. Construction on the first first begins this year.   It will have an initial capacity of 350MW, followed by the second’s at 1GW.  Upgrades will lift capacity from both to scale up beyond 4GW into the 2030s.  The first clean gas is expected in 2027.

Hydrogen stripped from the refinery’s hydrocarbons will enable local industrial and power generation businesses to switch to the low carbon input, used either as an energy source or as a feedstock.

Developers estimate this will help reduce the North West’s regional emissions of carbon by 2.5 million tonnes every year – the equivalent of taking 1.1 million cars off the roads.

Cheshire West & Chester Council approved EET’s groundbreaking plans this week.  The company’s business plan envisages unlock billions of pounds of related investment and job creation.

Richard Holden, project manager at EET Hydrogen, said, “This is the largest low carbon hydrogen project in the UK and one of the most advanced in the world. It is a vital piece of the North West’s journey to net zero, underpinning HyNet and providing the opportunity for manufacturers in the region to decarbonise their processes and support UK jobs.

“We have worked closely with regional stakeholders and are delighted to obtain this important approval for the project as we move from ambition to action.”

EET Hydrogen positions itself as a leading player in the UK energy transition. and is developing HyNet, Britain’s first large scale, low carbon hydrogen production hub.

HyNet’s target of nearly 4GW of hydrogen by 2030 represents 40% of the UK government’s target for the gas.

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In return for state backing, the successful projects will invest over £400 million in the next 3 years, generating more than 700 jobs across the UK, said the ministry.

For industrial processes, the government says nascent green hydrogen, electrolysed with renewable electricity, needs support as it challenges blue hydrogen, made from re-processed oil and gas.  The cleaner variety, says Whitehall, needs support in building up output to justify new infrastructure.

Both types offer potential, ministers believe, to create over 12,000 jobs this decade and unlock as much as £11 billion of investment.

However the government has confirmed that plans to convert homes in Redcar, Teesside to the green variety will not go ahead, with ministers citing problems with its main supply. The announcement follows withdrawal of a similar conversion of homes in Whitby. Results from a third home pilot in Fife are being evaluated.

Around 125MW of industrial projects will benefit straightaway from the announcement. Participating businesses include

• Sofidel in Port Talbot, South Wales. The paper-maker will replace half of its current gas consumption with hydrogen
• InchDairnie Distillery in Scotland, who will run a boiler on 100% hydrogen in their distilling process
• PD Ports in Teesside, who will use hydrogen to replace diesel in their vehicle fleet, decarbonising port operations from 2026

Currently, less than 1% of the gas in distribution networks is hydrogen. Under Whitehall’s proposals, hydrogen could be blended with other gases in the network as an offtaker of last resort. That should cut costs in the hydrogen sector by helping producers seize economies of scale.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho also unveiled a second round of funding now available to applicants making blue and green H2 varieties, so they can develop pipelines in readiness for the government’s allocation rounds in 2025 and 2026. These intend to boost hydrogen capacity up to 1.5GW, on track to 4GW of blue capacity and 6GW of green by 2030.

Hydrogen blending may help achieve the UK’s Net Zero ambitions, but would have a limited and temporary role as the UK moves away from the use of natural gas.

Coutinho said: “Hydrogen presents a massive economic opportunity for the UK, unlocking over 12,000 jobs and up to £11 billion of investment by 2030.

“Our announcement represents the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen production projects announced at once anywhere in Europe”.

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The study will examine the environmental robustness of technical solutions and determine if any of the potential transit opportunities, including the transfer of residual process heat, export route for CO₂ and blue and green hydrogen, could reduce CO₂ emissions on both the South and North side of the Haven.

Depending on the outcome of the study, the opportunities that the MUST project could potentially provide are:

• Full elimination of CO₂ emissions from Dragon LNG’s regasification process by utilising the residual process heat from the generators at RWE’s Pembroke Power Station
• Establishing an export route for CO₂ from a potential carbon capture plant being developed at Pembroke Power Station
• Enabling the development of a CO₂ liquefaction, storage and shipping capability at Dragon LNG
• Establishing an additional export route for blue and green hydrogen (H2) from the south to the north side of the Milford Haven waterway with potential hydrogen from RWE’s Pembroke Green Hydrogen projects
• Create an opportunity for other industries to access a key piece of infrastructure across the Milford Haven to enable broader industrial decarbonisation. This could include supply water, direct wire connection (potentially from offshore renewables) and other utilities or products.

Richard Little, Director of Pembroke Net Zero Centre, RWE commented, “This appointment demonstrates the commitment both RWE and Dragon have towards developing decarbonisation options for the whole of South Wales and is a key part of RWE’s Pembroke Net Zero Centre (PNZC), a major multi-technology decarbonisation initiative in South Wales.”

Simon Ames, Managing Director, Dragon LNG and Dragon Energy commented, “We are excited to be entering into this important project phase with AtkinsRéalis who will provide recommendations for or against proceeding with project aspects. We continue to work with government and regulatory bodies to ensure we are in a position to progress forward once the results of the study are available in 2024”.

Sarah Long – AtkinsRéalis Market Director for Net Zero Energy, said, “The MUST project is a great example of the innovation that will drive forward the decarbonisation of industry at scale and support the development of new technologies that will be vital in the net zero transition. We welcome the opportunity to build on our longstanding relationships with RWE and Dragon LNG and look forward to bringing our knowledge of transit, marine, environment and process plant integration to such a multi-faceted project.”

MUST is a key deployment project of the South Wales Industrial Cluster, Dr Chris Williams, Head of Industrial Decarbonisation, Industry Wales, commented “SWIC is excited to see the MUST project develop as an example of industrial symbiosis (sharing), which will be a key element of industry in a net zero world. The sharing between and interconnecting of industries to limit waste and reduce emissions can unlock industrial sustainability, attract inward investment and help secure local jobs. MUST is an exemplar of the type of investment needed to support our industries on their net zero journey – as showcased in the SWIC Cluster Plan.”

As a collaborative, flagship component of the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) Deployment Project, the MUST project would represent a step change in net zero infrastructure.  The project is supported by an award from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI’s) Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge programme, which will provide key support in the engineering and design phases of the project.

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The UK government’s £20 billion pot of incentives for carbon capture projects disproportionately supports extraction of gas-derived ‘blue’ hydrogen, increasing long-term reliance on the fossil fuel in Britain’s power mix and imperilling Net Zero goals, an economics think-tank is alleging.

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The benefits could be delivered by building just three 300MW production facilities in high demand areas, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 1.7 million tonnes a year, a cut equivalent to taking 60,000 diesel lorries off the road.

Besides industry leaders including Associated British Ports, the three-month old Green Hydrogen Alliance (GHA) is advised by leading researchers at UCL’s Energy Institute, Cranfield University, Future Humber and the Thames Estuary Growth Board.

Together, the GHA aims to help policymakers ensure the UK becomes a leading global player in hydrogen, seen one of the future’s most promising fuels.

As the government updates its Hydrogen Roadmap, the Aliance’s report out today sets out policy opportunities to help Britain advance into a green hydrogen future, rich in low-carbon fuels for industry.

Three UK port regions – the Humber, the Thames Estuary and South Wales – could act as hubs for rapid onshore hydrogen production, the Alliance believes.  Regeneration of deprived areas would be fostered, harnessing major benefits significant to the nation’s economy and environment, including:

• Carbon reduction: Over 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced every year, equivalent to taking 60,000 diesel lorries off the road.
• Levelling up: local authorities in the port areas would gain an average £480 million from hosting green hydrogen production facilities.
• Energy security: The plan would add 900MW of green hydrogen capacity – capable of producing 18% of the Government’s 2030 target.
• Job creation: Over 8,000 jobs would be created directly in operation sites, plus many more in supply chains across the country.

In total, the plants would generate almost £11 billion for the UK.

The report calls for new measures to kick-start a green hydrogen market. Among them are widening options for feedstock imports and streamlining processes to obtain planning permits for production and distribution infrastructure. Such policies will give the UK its much-need boost to create jobs in areas that need them most.

Alex Stafford MP, chair of Parliament’s all-party group on hydrogen, welcomed the GHA’s work: “It highlights the immense economic & employment opportunities which former industrial areas stand to gain from accelerating our green hydrogen economy.

“The UK has a real chance to lead the way in green hydrogen, especially when British innovation in this area is combined with our rich industrial heritage, but we must go further and faster to make a hydrogen economy a reality in the UK.”

The proposed plant locations are government targets for economic regeneration and ideally positioned to produce hydrogen. Over 8,000 jobs would be created in the production and operation of green hydrogen plants, offering sustainable growth and opportunities to communities across the Humber, Thames Estuary and South Wales.

A GHA spokesperson said: “Green hydrogen will be an important part of the UK’s future and journey to decarbonising. This report demonstrates the significant benefits that the UK can reap if we create the right investment environment to kickstart a flourishing green hydrogen market.”

When recidivist liar and disgraced former prime minister Alexander Johnson launched the Conservatives’ hydrogen roadmap two years ago, it was immediately undermined by the resignation of its advisor on green hydrogen.

Chris Jackson resigned in August 2021 from chairing the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, denouncing as ‘an expensive distraction’ the Conservatives’ inclusion of hydrogen made by fossil fuel companies from legacy gas and oil.

In 2022 alone, the Conservative Party received an estimated £3.5 million from interests linked to fossil fuels and denial of climate science, according to a Guardian report in March, citing data from independent researchers at DeSmog.

Pictured:  Carlton and Schroders’ green hydrogen project at Barrow Green, Cumbria

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The minister told the Sunday Telegraph he was minded that injection of more hydrogen into the gas grid should be funded by alternative methods guaranteed not to push rocketing tariffs still higher for businesses and homes.

The delay implicit in Shapps’ declaration will disappoint growing numbers of firms planning ventures in hydrogen-making or reselling, such as Octopus Hydrogen.

From next year the government is committed to pumping more of the gas, whether electrolysed from water with clean renewables, or steam-scrubbed from methane – through existing pipes   One recent report suggested keeping to that goal will make necessary as much as £118 more in levies and additional charges from 2025.

The Telegraph reported D-NZES, the Treasury, and Number 10 were in talks to agree a new hydrogen funding mechanism. A consultation could to be launched next month.

Separately, the same paper also reported the government’s existing package of green levies could be restored to energy bills from next month, potentially pushing up average energy bills by around £170 a year.

Funding energy efficiency and anti-fuel poverty programmes, as well as long term clean power contracts, environmental levies tacked into bills for homes & businesses have, under thirteen years of Conservative-led administrations, demonstrably spurred development of the UK’s clean energy sector.     But a loud claque of the party’s ideologues at Westminster and beyond, notably its Net Zero group of MPs, see them as distorting  supposedly “free” markets, and thus unjustifiable.

Tied in value to renewable power prices, levies are also certain to fall further, in line with market prices for clean power’s varieties, all of them sharply & sustainably falling.

The Treasury moved green levies off energy bills last autumn in response to soaring energy costs, But it insisted then they would be return once energy prices fell below the cap set by the government’s price guarantee scheme. That has now happened.

Finance minister John Glen told Sky News yesterday that the ministry had not decided when they would be re-instated.

“We are making assessments all the time of how we can deal with the challenges of supply across the UK and the different input costs,” he said.

“The chancellor will be meeting with regulators next week… All decisions are looked at in terms of what we can do to make the situation better whilst continuing to recognise that halving inflation has to remain our priority.”

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