BP has unveiled plans for the UK’s largest blue hydrogen production facility, targeting 1GW of hydrogen production by 2030.
BP has unveiled plans for the UK’s largest blue hydrogen production facility, targeting 1GW of hydrogen production by 2030. The H2 Teeside project in the country’s industrial hub in the north east of England would also capture and send for storage up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
A final investment decision on the project, which is close to North Sea storage sites, pipe corridors and existing operational hydrogen storage and distribution capabilities, is expected in 2024. Production could start in 2027 or earlier. BP has begun a feasibility study into the project to explore technologies that could capture up to 98% of carbon emissions from the hydrogen production process.
With large-scale, low-cost production of clean hydrogen, BP said that H2Teesside could support the conversion of surrounding industries to use hydrogen in place of natural gas, playing an important role in decarbonizing a cluster of industries in Teesside.
H2Teesside would be integrated with the region’s already-planned Net Zero Teesside (NZT) and Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) projects, both of which are led by BP as operator.
The project is expected to be developed in stages, with an initial 500MW of blue hydrogen capacity in production by 2027 or earlier and additional capacity to be deployed by 2030 as decarbonization of the industrial cluster and hydrogen demand gathers pace.
BP has agreed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Venator, one of the largest global producers of titanium dioxide pigments and performance additives, to scope the supply of clean hydrogen to its flagship Teesside plant.
It has also agreed an MoU with Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the gas distributor for the North of England, to collaborate on further decarbonizing both industrial customers and residential homes throughout its gas network.
Separately, BP has also signed an MoU with Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) to explore the potential for green hydrogen in the region, including the development of Teesside as the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub.
