UK Energy Storage (UKEn) and Portland Port have announced plans for joint ventures to import and produce hydrogen at the post and store it in nearby salt caverns. UK Energy Storage is a subsidiary of UK Oil & Gas PLC.
The two Memorandums of Understanding will see joint ventures with two activities:
• Import by ship of green hydrogen from carrier liquids (or compressed green hydrogen) into Portland Port. The hydrogen gas (extracted from the carrier liquid in that case) would be piped locally into UKEn’s nearby South Dorset salt cavern hydrogen storage site and then onwards.
• Generation of green hydrogen via electrolysis within Portland Port. This project is designed to make use of excess renewable (wind) energy. The stored hydrogen would ultimately be converted to electrical power at suitable times.
The company said it has opened preliminary dialogue with potential suppliers of both liquid and gaseous green hydrogen. It highlighted third party plans for around 2GW of wind offshore of Dorset (with an operations base and cable landfall at or close to Portland Port)
UKEn said the fact that its South Dorset storage site is close to PPL’s deep-water port, capable of handling very large gas carrier size vessels (VLGCs), “presents an opportunity to establish a material scale integrated green hydrogen energy hub”.
Southern England is forecast in NESO’s Future Energy Scenarios to be the UK’s largest hydrogen demand area by 2040. A Dorset hub would include the sole salt-cavern hydrogen storage solution for the area.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s Chief Executive, said: “The addition of a potential material source of green hydrogen, directly linked to UKEn’s South Dorset storage site, would both enhance our project’s national significance and the prospects of UKEn securing revenue support in the government’s forthcoming Hydrogen Storage procurement process. The revenue support case would likely be further strengthened by the future potential for UKEn’s proposed at scale hydrogen battery allied to planned offshore Dorset wind power.” Ian McQuade, General Manager – Commercial, Portland Port, said: “The Portland Port team looks forward to exploring these hydrogen opportunities centred around the port and UK Energy Storage’s material-scale South Dorset Storage site. The two MOUs underline our Green Energy Island aspiration for Portland to become a leading renewable energy hub on the south coast.”