Four of Britain’s leading energy companies – National Gas, Centrica, Equinor and SSE Thermal – have launched a coordinated bid to develop Britain’s first regional hydrogen transport and storage network in the Humber.
Humber Hydrogen is a network that includes the Humber Hydrogen Pipeline and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage, which will submit proposals under 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. The funding decision, expected to be worth around £500 million, would establish the infrastructure that will underpin large-scale hydrogen deployment in the UK.
The companies are combining their expertise in hydrogen transport, production, usage and storage to develop a first-of-its-kind coordinated hydrogen network in Britain, connecting 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 cluster this infrastructure would also support industrial decarbonisation in the Humber 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.
Richard Gwilliam, Chair of the Humber Energy Board, said, “Backing plans to deliver hydrogen infrastructure in the Humber in 2026 would be a game-changing decision from Government which would support the transformation of the region’s economy and enhance our critical role in providing energy security for the UK. This proposal, an essential part of long-held plans to create a low-carbon industrial cluster, is backed by experienced energy and infrastructure companies that are prepared to invest billions in the region, creating jobs and economic growth for decades to come. Now is the time for the Government to unlock the region’s potential and re-energise the Humber.”
