Beverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart, whose constituency is set to include vital energy-generating infrastructure at Saltend Chemicals Park and the Yorkshire Energy Park, has met Energy Minister, Greg Hands, to back plans for a 600-megawatt, low-carbon hydrogen production plant.
The H2H Saltend project, led by Norwegian energy giant Equinor, aims to cut CO2 emissions at Saltend Chemicals Park by almost one million tonnes each year, equivalent to a 30 per cent cut based on current emissions. Rather than burning natural gas, businesses on the industrial park would instead use hydrogen as their fuel, while linked carbon capture infrastructure would ensure that operations were carbon neutral.
Graham commented, “The Humber is the most carbon intensive industrial cluster in the entire country, but it’s also vital as it handles 14 per cent of our trade and a quarter of the UK’s energy in one way or another.
“Rather than being left behind by the transition to green, there are several projects gearing the Humber up to be a world-leading innovator in generating clean energy. Not only will this help to protect jobs and create new, skilled and well-paid roles but it’s crucial to tackling climate change, which is of particular importance to us given the flooding and coastal erosion we already face.
“I wanted to put all of these positives in front of the Minister so that he could see how important it will be to my constituents and our region, and to take the chance to invite him up to see plans for the project for himself. Luckily, it could coincide with my quarterly supper club, so it would also be a chance to show Greg around beautiful Holderness and have a slap-up meal in New Ellerby.”
As well as being used by industry at the chemicals park, bosses at Equinor hope that the hydrogen produced at the park can also be used to decarbonise transport, heating and pharmaceuticals across the Humber so that the region becomes the world’s first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040.
Equinor has also confirmed that tentative plans are in place to support trials of a ‘Hydrogen Town’ in northern Lincolnshire, in line with government plans to test this new method of domestic heating by the end of the decade.
The Government’s ‘10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ contains plans for 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030 backed by a £240 million-strong Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund and with support for private sector investment. The Government estimates that achieving this could support up to 8,000 jobs by 2030 and unlock up to 100,000 more by 2050 in a ‘high hydrogen net-zero scenario’.
