Equinor has formally submitted plans for its ‘Hydrogen to Humber (H2H) Saltend’ plant into phase two of the government’s Cluster Sequencing Process. It has also announced co-operation agreements with prospective regional hydrogen users.
H2H Saltend is a 600MW hydrogen production plant, in which natural gas is converted to hydrogen, with carbon capture. It is located in Saltend, east of Hull.
Equinor aims to take a final investment decision during 2023 “with public and private support” amd begin construction in 2024. It aims to start providing hydrogen to Triton’s neighbouring power plant, and the local chemicals plant, by 2026. The carbon dioxide captured will
Companies who have signed varying agreements for the development and commercialisation of the project, including potential future hydrogen supply, are:

• Centrica Storage, which may switch from gas to hydrogen fuel for operations at the Easington gas storage site in East Yorkshire and offshore platforms in the North Sea..
• INEOS Acetyls, which supplies chemicals for industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, paints, adhesives and packaging and may use hydrogen instead of gas within its processes.
• Pensana which is establishing a rare earths processing facility at Saltend Chemicals Park. It may use hydrogen in reprocessing end-of-life permanent magnets to recover rare earths.
• Triton Power (above), which operates Saltend Power Station, currently natural gas-fired and providing power and steam primarily to the Chemicals Park.
• Vital Energi, which may use hydrogen to fuel electricity generation, heating and cooling at Yorkshire Energy Park, its proposed energy and technology park in the Humber Freeport Zone.
• Vivergo Fuels is a renewable bioethanol fuel producer based at Saltend Chemicals Park. It will assess the potential for hydrogen to be used instead of natural gas to dry its co-produced animal feed.
Equinor says H2H Saltend is the kick-starter project for the wider Zero Carbon scheme and an essential building block for its ‘Hydrogen to Humber’ plan for 1.8GW of hydrogen production in the region by 2030.
In October the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Zero Carbon Humber, as part of the East Coast Cluster, was one of two successful national bids in Phase One of its Cluster Sequencing Process. This allows individual decarbonisation projects within the cluster to enter Phase Two. Submissions closed on 21 January and a result is expected around May 2022.
Equinor has also submitted three other projects into the process. These include two new carbon capture power stations at Keadby and Peterhead, both developed together with SSE Thermal, as well as the Net Zero Teesside Power project which is developed in partnership with BP.