ENERGY firms have welcomed the news the incoming Stanlow hydrogen plant will help lead the way in building the UK's hydrogen economy.

The Government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced that Essar Energy Transition’s Vertex Hydrogen project has been chosen as part of one of only two UK hydrogen plants to move into the next stage of bilateral negotiations with UK Government.

The announcement follows the UK Government’s commitment to providing up to £20 billion in funding for early deployment of carbon capture, usage and storage to help meet its climate commitments. The funding supports private investment and job creation in locations including the North West of England, Essar’s UK home.

This development supports Essar’s commitment to major investment in the UK in support of the UK Government’s net zero ambitions. Recently, Essar launched Essar Energy Transition (EET) to invest US$3.6 billion in developing a range of low carbon energy transition projects over the next five years, of which US$2.4 billion will be invested at the Stanlow site in Ellesmere Port,

The HPP1 plant will produce some 350MW of hydrogen from 2026, making it one of the UK’s leading low carbon hydrogen businesses. Some 600,000 tonnes of CO2 will be captured and stored using HyNet’s carbon-capture infrastructure – the equivalent to taking around 250,000 cars off the road.

Vertex provides vital but ‘hard to abate’ industrial and power generation businesses with a route to decarbonise delivering job certainty and growth in a globally emerging sector.

The direct investment in the production plant will be nearly £500 million and is a critical first step in building a hydrogen economy in the North West.

Vertex is rapidly progressing a second plant (HPP2), at the same location, for 700MW into Front-End-Engineering-Design. This will be completed in 2023, positioning Vertex as the enabler of a broader hydrogen economy in the North West. The HPP2 plant has today received support from the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund as part of its development.

Joe Seifert, CEO of Vertex Hydrogen, said: “The industrial revolution that led the development of the modern world, was founded and nurtured by the people and natural resources of the North West. Now the same region will lead this emerging low carbon hydrogen industry as a world leader in the race to NetZero. The news is great for the environment and great for the regional economy.”

'Vital role'

Prashant Ruia, director of Essar Capital, said: “I welcome and thank the UK Government for their support to our investment.

"This enables us to confidently move forward with our plans in EET to build a premier energy transition hub in the North West of the UK, anchored around our Stanlow Refinery.

"Today, huge progress has been made. We are more confident than ever in the potential of our UK site, with its core contribution to HyNet, to play a vital role in the UK’s decarbonisation strategy and to act as a catalyst for significant investment in our region.

"We are demonstrating how legacy industrial businesses can become part of the solution, and drive decarbonisation across the North West’s industrial heartlands."

Eni, the operator of transport and storage activities at the HyNet project, also welcomed the news.

A spokesperson for the energy firm said: "From an employment perspective, the project will preserve current levels and at the same time will favour the creation of around 56,000 new jobs in the period 2022-2030 in the Liverpool Bay area.

"In addition to its work in Liverpool Bay, Eni recently submitted an application to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) for a carbon dioxide storage license in the Hewett depleted gas field, which covers an area located in the southern British North Sea.

"Eni plans to develop a CCS project that will contribute to the decarbonisation of the Bacton and Thames Estuary areas. The depleted and inactive Hewett gas field is an ideal site to permanently store CO2 with a storage capacity of about 300 million tons of carbon dioxide over its lifespan.

"Eni is proud to be supporting the strategy of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to decarbonise industry through the safe and proven method of CCS and accelerate the UK’s competitive advantage on a global scale."