The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has announced approximately $26.7 million in government funding for seven low-carbon hydrogen projects, which is expected to boost the country’s hydrogen production capacity by 800 MW. Subject to the signing of contracts, financing from the second phase of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) will support the projects’ development and implementation.
Reportedly, four projects will develop plans for hydrogen facilities to supply cleaner fuel to companies across various industries, like pharmaceuticals and automotive. The remaining three will produce hydrogen for industry and transport. They include Suffolk Hydrogen, run by Hydrab Power, which will make green hydrogen for service vehicles at the Sizewell C nuclear site; Tees Valley Hydrogen, led by Exolum, which will build a new hydrogen refueling station for the local transport sector; and Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, run by BP and Aberdeen City Council, which will supply cleaner fuel for the local fleet of electric buses.
Furthermore, the list of the seven winning projects can be seen on the government’s website. The support was announced at the government’s second Hydrogen Investor Forum. RWE was awarded funding for its Pembroke Green Hydrogen Phase 2 project, a 200 MW electrolytic hydrogen production plant expected to be operational in the late 2020s and designed to help decarbonise the South Wales Industrial Cluster.
Veri Energy secured funding to support a front-end engineering and design study for a 50 MW green hydrogen plant at the Sullom Voe Terminal, while EDF Renewables UK got support for Phase 3 of the Tees Green hydrogen initiative. Also backed is the Grenian Hydrogen Speke project, which is being developed by Statkraft, Foresight and Progressive Energy. The news follows the announcement of support for 11 green hydrogen production projects totaling 125 MW of capacity under the UK government’s first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1). These will receive over GBP 2 billion in revenue support over the next 15 years. A second hydrogen allocation round (HAR2) has been launched with the ambition of backing 875 MW.
