Clean energy major ScottishPower secured a green hydrogen hat trick in the UK Government’s Powering Up Britain green day announcements.
Its 100MW Port of Felixstowe project, in partnership with Hutchison Ports, moved a step closer by securing nearly £2m in government funding for a feasibility study for a green hydrogen production plant at the port. The project aims to create a clean fuels hub that could help decarbonise heavy industry and heavy transport in the region.
Two other ScottishPower green hydrogen projects have been shortlisted for support with the Cromarty and Whitelee green hydrogen projects in line for funding.
The wins wrap up a week of green power announcements for the company with ScottishPower and Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galán meeting the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, and Energy Minister Grant Shapps to discuss its £10bn investments across the UK, including greenlighting a £1.3bn turbine contract for the new East Anglia Three Offshore Wind farm.
Today’s green hydrogen funding announcements are part of the government’s Powering Up Britain strategy, an aim to kickstart the hydrogen economy. The Cromarty Green Hydrogen plant will be based at ScottishPower Renewables’ 29MW Beinn Tharsuinn windfarm, with the facility producing green hydrogen, powered by 100% renewable electricity from on-site wind generation and solar PV imported from the grid.
The project, in partnership with Storegga, will have the capacity to produce around 11 tonnes of green hydrogen per day, which will be used to decarbonise heavy industry and transport, including the region’s famous whisky distilleries.
The Whitelee 10MW project will be capable of up to four tonnes of hydrogen per day. The green hydrogen plant will be powered by a mix of technologies at one of Europe’s largest onshore wind farms which also includes a new solar farm and battery energy storage alongside the existing windfarm.
The hydrogen will be used to provide a zero-carbon fuel for heavy transport and high temperature industrial processes, helping to decarbonise local transport and improve air quality for communities across Glasgow and wider region.
Mark Bradley, Hydrogen Director at ScottishPower, said: “This hat trick of funding will allow us to take a big step forward on green hydrogen. The UK Government’s announcements today are aimed at powering up Britain and these projects would put us on course to develop the hydrogen economy we need to decarbonise heavy and hard to reach industries.
“Our significant renewable fleet is well placed to drive forward this technology and enable us to offer 100% renewable green hydrogen to customers, providing a significant contribution to the UK Government low-carbon hydrogen production capacity targets of 10GW by 2030.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “We have all felt the effects of price spikes caused by Putin’s disruption and weaponization of global energy supplies.
“Our investment to kickstart the UK’s hydrogen sector is part of our plan to improve our energy security through home-grown sources. And it’s a win-win – creating thousands of jobs that are built to last”.
Sarah Potts, Head of Hydrogen at Storegga, said: “This is a really significant day for us, for one of the UK’s most important exports – Single Malt and Scotch whisky – and the North of Scotland’s fledgling hydrogen economy.
“New employment opportunities created by the development can help reverse the trend of young people leaving the Highlands in search of economic opportunities elsewhere – supporting a just transition for the region as fossil fuels are phased out.
“We are now focussed on driving the project forward, with hydrogen production expected to begin in Q4 2025. In its first phase, we’ll use the full 29MW capacity of the Beinn Tharsuinn wind farm to produce an average 11,000kg of hydrogen each day.”
The UK Government has an ambition of up to 1GW of electrolytic hydrogen production capacity in operation or construction by 2025. It wants to deploy at scale with up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity planned by 2030, potentially unlocking up to £11bn of private investment and supporting more than 12,000 jobs by 2030.
Green hydrogen uses renewable energy to power an electrolyser which splits water into its two core elements; hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be easily stored and transported to where it is required. The zero-emission fuel complements efforts to electrify, by providing a zero-carbon fuel alternative to sectors and industries where electrification can’t or won’t reach.