(London / UK) – The British government is providing £500 million (€587 million) in funding for regional hydrogen transport and storage networks. The funds are intended to promote the growth of a “renewable Britain” and unlock further investment in industrial centers, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Government promises thousands of jobs
This infrastructure boost will help deliver clean energy while creating thousands of skilled jobs in the regions and supply chain, including Merseyside (near Liverpool in the northwest of England), Teesside (on Scotland's northeast coast), and Humber (east coast). This will ensure that communities can reduce their dependence on volatile international fossil fuel markets.
"By building hydrogen networks, we are securing domestic energy that will power British industry for generations to come," said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. The funding will open up the energy carrier to the UK energy system, "where it can contribute to the decarbonization of industries such as refineries and heavy-duty transport, while enabling long-term energy storage that can be used during peak demand."
H2 projects already on the HAR2 shortlist
The Humber region on England's east coast, with its tributaries, the Ouse and Trent, is one of the island's most carbon-intensive industrial regions. Several companies are already active with hydrogen projects along the estuary, including the energy company Uniper SE, the oil company Phillips 2 Ltd., the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor ASA, and the British utility SSE Thermal (we have reported on this several times).
In April, following a second call for proposals for hydrogen projects ( HAR2 , Second Hydrogen Allocation Round) , the British government shortlisted 27 applicants who will use hydrogen to decarbonize their manufacturing and industrial processes. These include projects in the Tees and Humber regions. In the first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1) in December 2023, the government selected eleven projects with a total production capacity of 124 megawatts and awarded them £2 billion.
Photos
Uniper's Killingholme power plant, where hydrogen will also be produced in the future to supply the Humber region. In April 2024, Uniper and oil company Phillips 66 announced a cooperation agreement with the goal of producing green hydrogen at the "Humber H2ub" for Phillips 66's refinery there. The project is shortlisted for the HAR2 tender for government funding. © Uniper SE
