Bids submitted for green projects
HUGE bids worth tens of millions of pounds to accelerate the greening up of heavy industry in the Humber have been submitted to government. Two major projects are being brought forward, uniting hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage, with the aim of transforming one of the most carbon intensive areas to become an exemplar for the world, protecting and creating thousands of jobs.
Humber Zero and Zero Carbon Humber are cluster specific and regionally uniting projects that can work together or stand alone. The first is being led by Vitol Group and Phillips 66, focused on post-combustion carbon capture at the huge Humber Refinery, where Vitol owns the on-site VPI Immingham combined heat and power plant. The second involves a 12-strong partnership of companies and organisations, and involves a pan-regional pipeline and subsea storage. Equinor, with plans for hydrogen production at Saltend - close to the storage off Easington - is leading, with a pipeline taking in the refining cluster in northern Lincolnshire, so too Scunthorpe steelworks and Keadby power stations, emerging from Drax. Jonathan Briggs, director of Humber Zero, said: “We have put the bid in, and it is a joint bid between VPI and P66. We are very excited about it and working on a successful project, at scale, to aid decarbonisation.” Eight million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year have been identified, with potential for more and the integration of hydrogen, with near neighbour Uniper looking at that phase.
It is also part of Zero Carbon Humber, revealed as a £75 million ask of government, as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
On board are Associated British
Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Equinor, Mitsubishi Power, National Grid Ventures, PX Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company Ltd, Uniper, and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. The anchor project is the Equinor-led Hydrogen to Humber (H2H) Saltend project, which will establish the world’s largest hydrogen production plant with carbon capture at Saltend Chemicals Park.
Al Cook, executive vice-president and country manager at Equinor, said: “The Zero Carbon Humber bid demonstrates the ambitious action needed to drive a low-carbon recovery and reach net zero.
“This proposal, supported by a broad group of companies, will bring huge benefits to the Humber economy, protecting and creating jobs and reducing emissions.” Announcements on backing could be made in December.