2 minute read - 8th June 2023
Potential £180m green hydrogen investment for Saltend
Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull, owned and operated by px Group, has been selected as the site for the build of a green hydrogen facility and an investment of between £180m and £240m by green hydrogen industrial developer Meld Energy – if it secures government development support.
Meld is an international hydrogen development company and is working with global energy management company World Fuel Services Corporation to develop green hydrogen supply chains. Meld is currently bidding for development support from the UK’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Should the bid win government backing, FEED (Front End Engineering Design) is expected to begin in November 2023 and would run concurrently with planning application processes. Building would commence less than a year later with a target operation in early 2027.
The facility would be the UK’s largest green hydrogen production facility (if built today), with an initial installed capacity of 100MW and the potential to increase its capacity to over 200MW in a second development stage.
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A potential investment of at least £180m could lead to the development of a green hydrogen production facility at the Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull / Picture: px Group
The green hydrogen would be produced at the facility using electrolysis, which involves using electricity to split water into its constituent elements: hydrogen and oxygen. Through using renewable electricity for this process, the hydrogen produced would be “green” hydrogen, as compared to grey and blue hydrogen, which is more carbon-intensive. Meld would utilise PPAs (power purchase agreements) with renewable energy suppliers.
The hydrogen produced by Meld would be used to provide energy on-site at Saltend, helping to switch over from more carbon-intensive fuels and chemical feedstock to emissions-free green hydrogen. The Humber is the UK’s most carbon-intensive region.
Geoff Holmes, CEO of px Group, said: “Meld Energy’s decision to invest at Saltend Chemicals Park proves once again that Saltend is the go-to location for industrial decarbonisation and the UK energy transition. Meld’s plans are on a scale that will make a significant impact on domestic decarbonisation – it is a project that the government should find impossible to ignore. We have a host of world-class industrial companies on site at Saltend and this potential major investment shows once again the strength of the Saltend offering.”
Chris Smith, CEO & founder of Meld Energy, added: “Saltend Chemicals Park is the perfect site for our green hydrogen facility. Saltend has a rich knowledge of decarbonisation projects and, importantly, has future users of the hydrogen to be produced already in place. This project can be online within four years and would deliver an immediate reduction in emissions once production commences. The facility will have the potential to double its production as demand for hydrogen increases in the future to meet net zero targets.”