Humber Hydrogen partners, National Gas, Centrica, Equinor and SSE Thermal, presented their coordinated bid to develop Britain’s first regional hydrogen transport and storage network in the Humber.

They were also joined at the meeting by the Associated British Ports, Carbon Capture and Storage Association, GMB, Hydrogen UK, RWE and Uniper, who will all play a pivotal role to realise the Humber’s potential as Britain’s hydrogen heartland. 

Speaking about the bid, Emma Hardy MP, said;

“The Humber is the best place for Britain’s first hydrogen network, which will bring jobs, investment and a huge potential for expansion.

“Humber Hydrogen is about protecting our region’s industrial future, driving clean growth and creating greater energy security for the whole nation.”

National Gas, Centrica, Equinor and SSE Thermal are bringing their expertise in hydrogen transport, production, usage and storage to develop a first-of-its-kind coordinated hydrogen network in Britain in the Humber. They will connect projects across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire including locations such as Aldbrough, Easington, Saltend, Immingham and Keadby to link hydrogen production with industrial customers and power stations.

Several large-scale hydrogen projects are proposed in the Humber, including H2H Easington and H2H Saltend hydrogen production plants, and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage. Up to 3GW of hydrogen could be produced by Easington and Saltend combined. The proposed network would also be ideally located to connect to a national hydrogen transmission network being developed by National Gas, transporting hydrogen across Britain to industrial clusters.

As the UK’s most carbon-intensive industrial hydrogen will support industrial decarbonisation by enabling fuel switching in energy-intensive but hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy manufacturing, chemicals, steel and power generation. In addition, it would support production of high-value products such as ammonia and the creation of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel industry.

To realise the region’s potential, as Humber Hydrogen, the partners will submit proposals for Humber Hydrogen Pipeline and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage to the Government’s Hydrogen Transport and Storage Business Model processes. This is a competitive process that will determine where the UK’s first integrated hydrogen network is built.