UK firm lands work on Britain’s huge gas and hydrogen energy storage project

England-based energy transition-focused player EnergyPathways has picked the UK’s Zenith Energy, a privately owned independent well engineering and project management company, as a contractor for its proposed large-scale offshore wind-powered energy storage project in the East Irish Sea, which is scheduled to cross a final investment decision (FID) off its list later this year.

Thanks to the new contract, Zenith will, among other services, fulfil the role of the well engineering department for EnergyPathways’ subsidiary company, EnergyPathways Irish Sea Limited (EPISL), serving as the well operator responsible for both drilling and completion design, permit planning and submission, tendering and procurement of long lead materials, preparation of rig tender, rig intake and arrival on site, well examination support and ultimately well execution of the Marram development wells, part of the Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) project.

Derek Grimmer, COO of EnergyPathways, highlighted: “EnergyPathways is pleased to continue its relationship with Zenith as its well engineering partner for our MESH development. Zenith have already demonstrated their ability to collaborate and work closely with the company on the pre-FEED phase of the project, coupled with their vast experience and capability making them the ideal partner for the MESH project.

“Not only can they support the drilling and development aspects of MESH gas storage project, they also have the expertise to support well operations for Long Duration Energy Storage and Hydrogen Storage ensuring they can support us through the full integration of our MESH project.”

MESH, which is envisioned as a large-scale energy storage facility to provide a secure and dependable supply of natural gas, green hydrogen, and low-carbon flexible power for the UK market for over 25 years, is electrifying and integrating existing infrastructure, connecting gas storage, hydrogen storage, and compressed air storage technologies with offshore wind and decarbonized power generation to establish a new major decarbonized energy hub for the UK.

“Our outsourced contractor model ensures we can align ourselves with high quality service providers while remaining lean and managing our costs through the FEED stage of our MESH project. We are very pleased to be playing our part in supporting a ‘just transition’ for the UK’s talented offshore workforce,” emphasized Grimmer.

Expected to be Britain’s largest integrated energy storage facility, MESH will combine natural gas, compressed air, and hydrogen storage to store up to 20 TWh of energy. This project is expected to deliver on the government’s 2030 clean power timeline and ensure a reliable and secure supply of energy for the UK.  

Designed as a fully decarbonized and electrified zero-emission facility, MESH will be powered by the wind farms of the UK East Irish Sea region, as EnergyPathways aims to play its role in supporting the government in accelerating Britain’s energy transition.

Chris Collie, Operations Director at Zenith Energy, noted: “We are delighted to have been selected by EnergyPathways as their well engineering partner of choice for this exciting and strategically important project.

“We look forward to contributing to the successful delivery of this development, which supports the UK’s transition to net zero and strengthens domestic energy security through low-carbon solutions.”

With the license operatorship approval for Block 110/4a in hand, MESH, which is surrounded by 7-8 GW of existing and planned offshore wind power, is close to late-life reusable gas pipelines and infrastructure as well as the UK’s key carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.