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The North West Energy & Hydrogen Cluster has been awarded Government funding to map out the region’s journey to becoming the UKs first net zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040. Funding has also been awarded to the North West’s leading hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project, HyNet.

The £120,000 roadmap project which is jointly funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), under the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund (IDCF), and by industry will be used to set out a clear roadmap for how the North West will decarbonise industry, protect jobs and help the UK meet its legally binding net zero targets.

Led by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), the North West Energy & Hydrogen Cluster brings together political and industry partners that are rising to the net zero challenge and could deliver 33,000 jobs, over £4bn investment and save 10 million tonnes of carbon per year.

The roadmap will identify the projects, technologies and strategic infrastructure required across the region to underpin future private and public sector investment. It will lead to a future funding bid for a share of £8 million later this year under phase two of the roadmap project.

Richard Carter, Managing Director at BASF and Chair of the NWBLT said: “The UK is locked into a net zero emissions target by 2050 and with industry accounting for a quarter of all emissions we urgently need a plan to decarbonise our industrial clusters. In the North West, our existing strengths in oil refining, chemical production and automotive manufacturing mean we’re ideally placed to develop solutions that can have a swift and significant impact.

“Businesses in the region are facing some of their most challenging times in decades. As we look to recovery, the clean growth agenda is going to be even more important, helping to secure the future of our industries, attract investment and deliver new jobs.”

A key part of the North West’s decarbonisation approach is the work taking place to develop a hydrogen economy, which is being spearheaded by the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA). This includes the HyNet project which intends to be piping low carbon hydrogen to industry in the region by the mid 2020’s.

HyNet also received funding from the deployment strand of the IDCF to initiate front end engineering and design and now will be able to compete for a share of up to £131m in phase two of the competition. It builds on the £13m of Government funding awarded to HyNet earlier this year to develop a design for a low carbon hydrogen production plant at Essar Oil UK’s Stanlow refinery in partnership with Progressive Energy, Johnson Matthey and SNC Lavalin and fund demonstrations of switching to hydrogen as a low carbon fuel at manufacturing businesses Unilever, Essar and Pilkington Glass.

Professor Joe Howe, Chair of the NWHA and Executive Director at the University of Chester’s Thornton Energy Research Institute said:

“We’re already well on the way to developing a pioneering hydrogen economy in the North West. HyNet is by far the UK’s most advanced hydrogen and carbon capture storage project which could see hydrogen piped into homes and businesses as early as 2025. It’s not just a concept anymore and this funding will help further develop the engineering required to deliver this groundbreaking project and could see the North West get millions more in Government funding.”

The Cluster area includes Cheshire, parts of North East Wales, Warrington, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester, generating approximately 6 million tonnes of CO₂ industrial emissions per year and is home to 4 million people. Clean energy projects in Lancashire and Cumbria will also be considered in the roadmap.

The roadmap grant has been awarded to Peel Environmental, bidding on behalf of partners Progressive Energy, the University of Chester, Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, Mersey Dee Energy, North West Business Leadership Team, and the Liverpool City Region Growth Company.

The deployment funding has been awarded to HyNet project lead Progressive Energy, bidding on behalf of partners CF Fertilisers, Essar Oil (UK) and Peel Environmental.

The North West Energy & Hydrogen Cluster is to set out a roadmap for low carbon skills in the region. Working with businesses, universities, colleges and training providers the plan will highlight where skills gaps exist and where investment is needed.

This comes as a report from the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) revealed that over £40bn could be invested in the engineering construction industry by 2050 – with around £7bn of that potentially set to come to the North West.

The ECITB’s Towards Net Zero report outlines how the UK must deploy a range of technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen, as well as attracting new talent and upskilling existing workforces in order to decarbonise the industrial and energy sectors.

Led by the University of Chester and Manchester Metropolitan University, the Cluster skills roadmap will seek to understand the skills requirements of industry in the region as businesses seek to respond to the Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Emma Degg of the North West Hydrogen & Energy Cluster said: “The North West is poised to come forward as the first decarbonised industrial cluster. New technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture, smart grids and renewable energy projects are already transforming the engineering construction sector in the region. The density of industries such as oil and gas, can provide complementary skills to support the transition to low carbon energy technologies and we have significant skills in salt cavern storage – something that the ECITB report highlights as an area that needs investing in.

“In the North West we’re working with businesses, universities, colleges and training providers to prepare a roadmap for low carbon skills which will highlight where investment is needed. This is hugely important to ensuring that the skills and job opportunities stay in the UK and in the region.”

Under the Government’s plans, at least one industrial cluster must decarbonise fully by 2040, with the remaining five becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The North West is bidding to become the UK’s first net zero carbon cluster, with the Liverpool and Manchester Mayors and Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) working directly alongside industry.

Led by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), the North West Energy and Hydrogen Cluster could deliver 33,000 jobs and save 10 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. Other clusters coming forward include Teesside, Humberside, Grangemouth, South Wales and Southampton.

A key part of the North West’s decarbonisation approach is the work taking place to develop a hydrogen network, which is being spearheaded by the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA).

Professor Joe Howe, Chair of the NWHA, Executive Director at the University of Chester’s Thornton Energy Institute and ECITB Board Member, said: “The Net Zero transition is a great opportunity, but it’s going to require some significant investment in skills and training. A lot of what needs to be implemented is not totally new technology, and already exists in some form, which is where the importance of skills comes in as we need the expertise to bridge that gap and put these technologies on site.

“A major concern is the ageing workforce, so it’s important to attract young people into industry. Clean growth can offer them the real opportunity to make a difference and be an instrumental part of the battle against climate change. We need to communicate the benefits of a career in this sector and attract school leavers into industry now so we can plan for the skills requirements of the future.

“This is a call to arms from industry, as the importance of developing skills in these sectors needs to be taken up by educational institutions and spearheaded at a Government level by the Department for Education.”

Amer Gaffar, Director of the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “We have to provide a solid understanding of the work currently being done to decarbonise both the region and the UK, and improve air quality. The skills roadmap is being developed to not only gain a further understanding of the challenges we face in this area from a view of both the educators and industry, but we need to develop a tangible pathway to skills to help regions like the North West decarbonise and create opportunities for future generations.

“The long term skills demand projections are currently uncertain, the quality of intelligence and forecasting is mixed and the pace of change is fast. However, we know that education and skills will ultimately underpin our ability to reach our ambition of a zero-carbon economy. As well as the environmental crisis there is also a compelling social and economic drive to ensure that the current and future workforce are equipped with the necessary skills to fill these roles.”

The ECITB Towards Net Zero report calls for action from industry and policy stakeholders in three areas: identify and close skills gaps; minimise skill shortages; and leverage policy and innovation. The full report can be viewed here. The research finds there are notable skills gaps nationally in areas such as C0₂ pipeline monitoring, production of synthetic fuels and repurposing of salt caverns for hydrogen shortage. Uncertainties lie around the number of workers required and the timeframe for their deployment.

Chris Claydon, ECITB Chief Executive, said: “Engineering construction is a dynamic industry and the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies in recent years shows industry can successfully adapt to transform big challenges into great opportunities.

“Our Towards Net Zero report points to new technologies, such as hydrogen fuels and carbon capture, that we must embrace in order to meet our climate change targets. To do this, we need a vibrant and skilled contracting industry to successfully deliver the technologies and infrastructure required to decarbonise industrial sites and processes.”

The UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has awarded £13m to fund two world-first hydrogen projects led by the HyNet consortium in the North West. The first is the UK’s leading low carbon hydrogen project, involving Johnson Matthey as technology provider, SNC-Lavalin as project delivery specialists and Essar Oil UK as owner and operator. The second project, to conduct live trials of hydrogen fuelling, includes regional businesses Unilever, Essar Oil UK and Pilkington. Both HyNet projects are led by developer Progressive Energy.

The project to develop the UK’s first Low Carbon Hydrogen Plant at Essar Oil UK’s Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, has been awarded £7.5m. The plant will produce 3TWh of low carbon hydrogen – double the UK’s total current production of biomethane – which will be provided to industrial and eventually domestic customers in the region.  The facility will deliver low cost, low carbon hydrogen at scale and high efficiency, and with a very high carbon capture rate – over 95% of the carbon used in the process will be captured and stored, thanks to the pioneering carbon capture technology. When operational, the facility will capture 600,000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum – the equivalent of taking over 250,000 cars off the road.

Hydrogen will be distributed by way of a new pipeline network under development by Cadent, which will also provide the pathway for renewable hydrogen once costs come down in the future. The funding will also deliver the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) of the plant, providing a reference design for the facility to be replicated across the UK and internationally.

HyNet has also received £5.2m to fund live trials of hydrogen fuelling at Unilever’s Port Sunlight manufacturing site, which produces many of the UK’s home care and personal care products, and at Pilkington’s Greengate Works glass-making plant in St Helens.

In St Helens, the use of hydrogen in the glass-making process will be a global first, while the demonstration at Unilever’s Port Sunlight will be the first meaningful use of hydrogen in a commercial scale boiler. The project also includes a FEED study for a new 100% hydrogen-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant, using gas turbines, at Essar’s Stanlow refinery. Evidence from the demonstrations will pave the way for conversion to low carbon hydrogen across a range of global industries.

The projects will aim to demonstrate that hydrogen can be used as a substitute fuel for natural gas in manufacturing processes, helping the companies’ transition to a low-carbon future and leading the way for others to follow.

David Parkin, Director, Progressive Energy and spokesperson for the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) said: “The Committee on Climate Change is absolutely clear that to deliver Net Zero, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage are going to be a necessity.  This funding is hugely significant for the North West, and the rest of the UK, providing essential support for HyNet and taking hydrogen energy from aspiration to reality.”

Mark Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Essar Oil UK said: “We are excited to be part of this initiative and believe we have the facilities and technological skills to help deliver the project.  The construction of the hydrogen facility at Stanlow is the first stage in becoming a carbon neutral site and will support our long term ambition of remaining a key national supplier of energy to the UK as we move towards a zero carbon world.”

Sebastian Munden, EVP & General Manager of Unilever UK & Ireland said:

“Unilever has a clear ambition of being a carbon neutral company by 2030, and we’re committed to playing our part and doing what we can to help the wider industry move further faster.

We already have five carbon neutral sites in the UK, and have been able to reduce our manufacturing carbon footprint by two thirds. The success of this Port Sunlight trial would mean Unilever is able to deliver home and personal care products to our consumers with an even smaller carbon footprint, which we know is of great importance to them.”

Neil Syder Head of Operations, Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, said: “Our parent company NSG Group has made a commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions globally by 21% from a 2018 baseline by 2030. Hydrogen combustion has the potential to be a key enabling step to meeting this target. For the first time anywhere in the world we’re going to show how hydrogen can be used in the glass-making process, paving the way for manufacturing processes across many industries. Not only will this lead to significant carbon savings but it will help to safeguard and grow jobs in the manufacturing sector.”

Robert MacLeod, Chief Executive, Johnson Matthey said: “If the UK is to achieve its Net Zero targets, a new era of clean energy is required in which hydrogen plays a crucial role.  But we need to act now, and act collectively, to deploy low carbon hydrogen at scale.  In our innovative Low Carbon Hydrogen process, we’ve applied well proven JM technology from other sectors to enable the cost-effective deployment of large-scale efficient hydrogen production.  And with the ability to store over 95% of the CO₂ produced in the process, we are making an important contribution to a cleaner, healthier world.”

Simon Naylor, Senior Vice-President, Engineering & Consulting, Resources, SNC-Lavalin, said: “The UK needs a tenfold increase in hydrogen production and the Low Carbon Hydrogen project puts us as key contributors to helping reach these targets. We look forward to our involvement in the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and on-site delivery aspects of this work.”

With research from the NWHA showing that over two-thirds of local authorities in the UK have declared climate emergencies, hydrogen is also increasingly being seen as part of the solution for meeting local climate targets. Liverpool City Region is targeting all gas network methane to be replaced by hydrogen by 2035 and the creation of a network of low carbon hydrogen filling stations for transport.

The Government investment will enable the North West to become a trailblazer in the UK for the transition to a low carbon economy. The projects form part of HyNet, which could see low-carbon hydrogen blended into the gas grid and piped into homes and businesses by 2025.

The HyNet project is part of the wider North West Energy & Hydrogen Cluster (www.northwestcluster.co.uk) which could deliver 33,000 jobs, over £4bn investment, and save 10 million tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Cheshire East Council and Storengy have joined forces and secured funding towards a £1m scheme which will see bin wagons converted to take home-produced hydrogen.

The scheme comprised of both public and private sector money – with a £345,000 contribution from the local enterprise partnership’s Local Growth Fund – will see the first green hydrogen fuelling facility in the North West of England, bringing carbon and air quality benefits to Cheshire East.

Installed at the Ansa environmental services depot in Middlewich, it is proposed to produce hydrogen in the greenest way possible – using an electrolyser connected to solar panels and grey-water recycling. This will provide safe, clean hydrogen fuel, which will be pumped into dual-fuel bin wagons.

Initially, two bin wagons owned by the council and one vehicle owned by Storengy will be converted to use the green hydrogen. This will reduce the council’s and Storengy’s diesel use by more than 10,000 litres per year.

Councillor Nick Mannion, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment and regeneration, said: “This scheme is an exciting step towards the council becoming carbon neutral by 2025. Through our environmental strategy, we intend to lead the way in green initiatives like this.

“Building a cleaner, greener economy will not only reduce carbon but also create jobs across the borough through new and innovative technologies, such as hydrogen.

“Hydrogen is ideal as an alternative to diesel for our refuse vehicles. These wagons have heavy schedules when delivering their services across the borough and this type of refuelling will ensure they have the cleaner power they need when emptying our residents’ bins.”

Councillor Quentin Abel, Cheshire East Council’s climate change champion, said: “Policymakers and industry, widely acknowledge that to achieve a zero-carbon economy we need to use fuels like hydrogen as a green energy source. This scheme means we can take that first step, starting with our heavy-duty vehicles. This will help towards combating the increasing climate change crisis.”

Mike Gibson, managing director of Storengy, said: “Decarbonising fleet operators’ activities is a huge challenge and we see this as an important first step in the process.

“We pride ourselves in being part of the energy transition that harnesses a fresh approach to deliver and store energy sources in the UK and worldwide. We are delighted to unveil this scheme in partnership with Cheshire East Council, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom.”

The project has been awarded a grant of £345,000 from the £4.1m energy fund, run by Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as part of the Local Growth Fund.

Christine Gaskell CBE DL, chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP said: “Cheshire and Warrington leads the way in clean growth, with decarbonisation one of our top priorities.  We are delighted to invest in projects such as this that are actively contributing to improving quality of life for all of our residents through reduced carbon emissions.”

Subject to approvals, including planning permission, the refuse vehicles will be operating from autumn 2020. All work will all comply with the necessary health and safety requirements.

The NWHA welcomes two new members hoping to benefit from the huge supply chain opportunities on offer from hydrogen.

Thyson Technology Limited, based in Ellesmere Port, is an instrumentation and engineering systems provider. The company is currently involved in the HyDeploy project which is trailing the blending of hydrogen into the gas network in Keele, with further trials planned for the North West.

Neil Stuchbury, Commercial Director at Thyson said: “There will be many challenges ahead on the path to net zero but at Thyson we’ve got a growing skills base in the North West that can help deliver a hydrogen network. Working on projects such as HyNet, we’re investing time and resource to this important agenda which will develop skills and jobs across the region. Being part of the North West Hydrogen Alliance means we’re at the heart of what’s happening and can share our technical expertise and support.”

Engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has also joined the NWHA. The consultancy is supporting the UK Government on its proposed hydrogen infrastructure development programme to inform policy and funding decisions. Other recent hydrogen projects include assisting hydrogen production associated with nuclear facilities and early stage facilitation of the process for a pilot hydrogen energy system at Keele University as well as various related international projects.

Prem Mahi, Development and Innovation Director – Energy, at Mott MacDonald said: “We see the NWHA as a great partnership for us and look forward to the opportunities it will bring. We are committed to technical excellence and innovation and have much insight to share from our projects in the UK and globally. Together, the NWHA has the right connections to really push the agenda to make hydrogen energy a working reality in the UK.”

https://www.mottmac.com/

Business leaders across the North West came together to discuss the huge supply chain opportunities which the UK’s transition to net zero will deliver.

Hosted by Peel L&P Environmental and the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA), the Energy Industries Council (EIC) event showcased some of the projects already happening in the North West to decarbonise the region – including HyNet, Protos and HyDeploy.

The business community heard how, with appropriate support from Government, £4 billion of investment and 33,000 jobs are expected to result from the North West’s ambition to become the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030.

Delivering the keynote address, Myles Kitcher, Managing Director, Peel L&P Environmental said: “This is the year when things are really going to happen. The opportunities for business across the UK and particularly here in the North West are huge. Meeting our climate change objectives is going to require innovation and new technologies, which means more skills, more jobs and more investment. It would be an absolute failure if we end up importing these skills, so we’re calling on Government to act to ensure we have the supply chain here in the UK.”

A clear message from the event was that while the scale of the opportunity is huge, Government needs to act to ensure the supply chain opportunities remain in the UK. Attendees heard how failures in the past meant that while the UK is the world’s largest operator of offshore windfarms, only 50% of windfarm project costs are spent with UK companies.

Stuart Broadley, Chief Executive, Energy Industries Council said: “The UK is the world’s largest producer of offshore wind, but sadly policy and funding gaps ten years ago means today we have to import most of this technology. With new opportunities highlighted by zero carbon legislation, the UK has the chance to learn from offshore wind mistakes, and make sure we not only become world leaders in hydrogen production and CCUS but also put in place adequate policies and funding to root this technology in our home-grown supply chain and universities, and attract FDI, to ensure we become leading zero carbon technology exporters to the world, not just consumers and importers.”

The North West Energy and Hydrogen Cluster is being led by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), with support from Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region Mayors and the Cheshire & Warrington LEP.

Emma Degg, Chief Executive, North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) said:

“The political environment is right for this to happen now. Both nationally and regionally there is no lack of ambition and we’re going to see continued investment in clean growth. In the North West we’re rising to the challenge of becoming the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030. As business leaders if you’re not already doing something to contribute to this agenda you should be. This isn’t an opportunity for the future, businesses need to get ready now as it’s coming fast.”

A key theme of the event was the opportunity presented by hydrogen. Attendees heard about HyNet, the most advanced hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project in the UK which could see hydrogen blended into the gas grid and piped into homes and businesses by 2024.

Commenting on the hydrogen opportunity, Professor Joseph Howe, Chair of the NWHA and Executive Director of the Thornton Energy Institute at the University of Chester, said “Not only do we have the chance to deliver billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs here in the UK, we have the opportunity to become world leaders and export these skills all over the world. We will need hydrogen and carbon capture and storage if we have any hope of meeting the UK’s legally binding net zero targets. The opportunity is there for us to grasp and here in the North West we plan to do exactly that. There are projects, like HyNet, which will make hydrogen a reality and they are happening right now.”

The NWHA welcomes two new members hoping to benefit from the huge supply chain opportunities on offer from hydrogen. Thyson Technology Limited, based in Ellesmere Port, is an instrumentation and engineering systems provider. The company is currently involved in the HyDeploy project which is trailing the blending of hydrogen into the gas network in Keele, with further trials planned for the North West.

Neil Stuchbury, Commercial Director at Thyson said: “There will be many challenges ahead on the path to net zero but at Thyson we’ve got a growing skills base in the North West that can help deliver a hydrogen network. Working on projects such as HyNet, we’re investing time and resource to this important agenda which will develop skills and jobs across the region. Being part of the North West Hydrogen Alliance means we’re at the heart of what’s happening and can share our technical expertise and support.”

Engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has also joined the NWHA. The consultancy is supporting the UK Government on its proposed hydrogen infrastructure development programme to inform policy and funding decisions. Other recent hydrogen projects include assisting hydrogen production associated with nuclear facilities and early stage facilitation of the process for a pilot hydrogen energy system at Keele University as well as various related international projects.

Prem Mahi, Development and Innovation Director – Energy, at Mott MacDonald said: “We see the NWHA as a great partnership for us and look forward to the opportunities it will bring. We are committed to technical excellence and innovation and have much insight to share from our projects in the UK and globally. Together, the NWHA has the right connections to really push the agenda to make hydrogen energy a working reality in the UK.”