Equinor’s H2H Saltend greenlighted to proceed as one of UK's large-scale hydrogen projects

Equinor’s H2H Saltend greenlighted to proceed as one of UK’s large-scale hydrogen projects

UK’s goverment has selected Norwegian energy giant Equinor’s H2H Saltendhas to progress as one of the first large-scale hydrogen projects in the country.

Equinor visiting the Humber region; Courtesy of Equinor
Equinor’s H2H Saltend greenlighted to proceed as one of UK's large-scale hydrogen projects
Equinor visiting the Humber region; Courtesy of Equinor

Hydrogen to Humber Saltend (H2H Saltend) is Equinor’s flagship project with a 600-megawatt low carbon hydrogen production plant, located at the Saltend Chemicals Park, to the east of Hull.

On 12 August, Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced that H2H Saltend production facility has been successfully progressed through phase two of the government’s cluster sequencing process.

The selected projects will now proceed to the due the phase two cluster sequencing process to allow them to connect to the East Coast Cluster’s CO2 infrastructure and be operational in the mid-2020s.

Previously in phase one of the cluster sequencing process, the East Coast Cluster, which connects the Humber and Teesside via CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, was selected to become one of the first two CCUS clusters in the UK.

Equinor’s bids for two new gas-fired power stations with carbon capture at Keadby, developed with SSE Thermal, and in Teesside, developed in partnership with BP, have also been successful.

Grete Tveit, senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions, Equinor, said: “Fantastic news that the UK government has selected three of our pioneering CCS and hydrogen projects… We’re excited to continue working closely with the UK government, our partners, and local stakeholders to deliver these large-scale projects. This further strengthens the UK’s position as a world leader in the energy transition.”

The Humber is the most carbon-intensive industrial region in the UK and H2H Saltend could reduce CO2 emissions by nearly one million tonnes annually.

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The projects that are finally selected will start operations in 2026/2027.

H2H Saltend is the kick-starter project for the wider Zero Carbon Humber scheme, a UKRI-supported partnership of 14 organisations committed to making the Humber the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.

Equinor is also planning a second 1.2-gigawatt low carbon hydrogen production facility in the Humber which combined with H2H Saltend could deliver 18 per cent of the UK government’s target of ten gigawatts hydrogen production capacity by 2030.

In partnership with SSE Thermal, Equinor is also planning to develop the world’s first at-scale 100 per cent hydrogen power station at Keadby and a proposed hydrogen storage facility at Aldbrough.

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