(Humber / UK) – Düsseldorf-based energy company Uniper SE is pushing ahead with its plans to produce low-carbon hydrogen at its Killingholme site on the South Humber Bank in the UK. The company has now published further plans for the “Humber H2ub.” This is a planned facility for the production and storage of hydrogen with a capacity of up to 720 megawatts, based on gas reforming technology with carbon capture and storage. The initial production capacity will be 120 megawatts.
Hydrogen delivery to Phillips refinery
Uniper and the oil company Phillips 66 Limited have now signed a cooperation agreement. They want to work together “towards a delivery of green hydrogen” to Phillips 66’s “Humber Refinery” from 2029. The energy source would be used to reduce emissions in the refinery.
The “Humber H2ub” project development and the supply agreement with Phillips 66 still require investment approval from the management of both companies. In addition, several prerequisites would have to be met: in addition to obtaining planning and environmental permits, for example the conclusion of a low-carbon hydrogen agreement with the British government.
The industrial region at the Humber Estuary on the east coast of England is one of the top pollutant emitters in Great Britain. © Image by Kreuzschnabel/Wikimedia Commons, License: artlibre
The Humber region on the east coast of England with the tributaries Ouse and Trent is one of the most CO2-intensive industrial regions on the island. Hydrogen is “crucial to decarbonizing and securing the region’s economy,” said Guy Phillips, team leader of Uniper’s UK hydrogen department: “Our site in Killingholme is ideally located with an excellent supply infrastructure” and has “the potential to expand hydrogen and hydrogen production.” to support the country's decarbonization ambitions, create high-skilled job opportunities and ensure that the location continues to make a valuable contribution to the regional economy. Killingholme offers several synergies within the Humber industrial cluster, such as an existing infrastructure with network connections. There is also enough space to produce hydrogen.
Numerous companies are already active on the Humber
Along the Humber estuary, a number of companies besides Uniper and Phillips 66 are already active with hydrogen projects, including the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor ASA with "H2H Saltend" (Hydrogen to Humber Saltend) and the British utility SSE Thermal. In the summer of 2022, these companies announced their plans to convert Triton Power's 1,2-gigawatt natural gas power plant to run on 30 percent hydrogen by 2027; full operation on hydrogen is planned for later. Equinor had already announced in the summer of 2020 its intention to develop 1,8-gigawatt (GW) electrolyzers at the Saltend chemical park on the Humber River to produce blue hydrogen.
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View over Killingholme, where hydrogen will also be produced to supply the Humber region in the future. © Uniper SE
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The industrial region at the Humber Estuary on the east coast of England is one of the top pollutant emitters in Great Britain. © Image by Kreuzschnabel/Wikimedia Commons, License: artlibre
