Page 8 - Gi September2020

industry & Government news

EQUINOR PLANS ‘WORLD-LEADING’ UK GOVERNMENT

HYDROGEN AND CARBON CAPTURE LAUNCHES HYDROGEN

PLANT ON HUMBERSIDE ADVISORY COUNCIL

Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice
President for Marketing, Midstream and
Processing at Equinor, said the project
PAUL HARROP
could make the UK and the Humber
region a “world-leading example” on
how to decarbonise industry using
hydrogen and CCS technologies.
“The world continues to need more
energy at lower emissions so we can
achieve the ambitions of the Paris
Agreement,” she said. “This necessitates
a substantial decarbonisation of
industry, in which we believe carbon
capture and storage and hydrogen can
and must play a significant role. With
private and public investment and
supportive UK policy, the H2H Saltend
project will demonstrate the potential of
SALTEND CHEMICALS PARK these technologies.” ENERGY MINISTER KWASI KWARTENG
Equinor expects to make the final
EQUINOR HAS UNVEILED plans to investment decision on the project THE UK GOVERNMENT has
build a “world-leading” facility at a during 2023, and predicts that launched a new Hydrogen Advisory
chemicals park near Hull that would production could start three years later. Council as part of efforts to cut
produce hydrogen from natural gas in The project is part of the broader Zero emissions, reports Energy Voice.
combination with carbon capture and Carbon Humber Alliance’s application The committee will act as a bridge
storage (CCS). for funding from the second phase of the between government and industry,
The Norwegian energy giant said that government’s Industrial Challenge Fund. allowing both parties to work
the proposed 600MW production plant, Al Cook, Executive Vice President together to identify ways to enable
dubbed Hydrogen to Humber Saltend and UK country manager for Equinor, the supply of low carbon energy.
(H2H Saltend), would be the largest of said the project could “transform the Members will consider where
its type in the world. UK’s largest industrial cluster into its and when hydrogen is deployed,
In an initial phase, the firm estimates greenest cluster” taking into account demand
the plant would help the Saltend The Saltend Chemicals Park, which volumes and cost implications.
Chemicals Park to reduce its emissions comprises chemical plants and Triton Minister of State for Business,
by nearly 900,000 tonnes of carbon Power’s combined gas turbine power Energy and Clean Growth, Kwasi
dioxide a year and allow the park’s station currently emits around 3.5 million Kwarteng and Shell’s UK Chair,
industrial partners to switch to a tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Sinead Lynch will co-chair the
hydrogen-natural gas blend, according The UK government has committed council.
to Business Green. to fully decarbonising at least one of Membership of the group will
Carbon dioxide emissions the UK’s industrial clusters by 2040, be reviewed periodically, with the
produced in the hydrogen production prompting regions across the county full list of participants due to be
process would then be captured and to vie for government funding. The released after the first meeting.
transported east by a pipeline to Humber faces competition from Ms Lynch said: “The aim of
offshore underground storage in the industrial clusters in North West this council will be to explore
southern North Sea, Equinor said. England, Teesside, Grangemouth near and advance the development of
In later phases, the project would Falkirk in Scotland, South Wales, and hydrogen as a decarbonised energy
be expanded to serve other industrial Southampton, which are all working on carrier for the UK and identify the
users in the park and across the region, their own net zero emission plans. priority actions which industry and
allowing the Humber industrial cluster Humber Zero Carbon Alliance government can take to unlock its
to reach net zero emissions by 2040, members Phillips 66, Uniper, potential in the 2020s.
Equinor said. and Vitol-owned power plant VPI “The journey to a low carbon
The large-scale hydrogen network Immingham unveiled plans in May economy requires a coordinated
would be open to both hydrogen to install post-combustion carbon and collaborative response and this
produced from natural gas with CCS – capture technologies on gas-powered group will play an important role in
otherwise known as blue hydrogen – and generators as well as plans to develop realising the potential of hydrogen
green hydrogen, which is produced using new hydrogen production plant at in reaching this goal.”
electrolysis powered by renewables. facilities in the region.

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