The Anonymous Widower

Hydrogen Milestone: UK’s First Hydrogen-to-Power Trial At Brigg Energy Park

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Centrica and HiiROC, supported by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC), have successfully demonstrated the injection of hydrogen into a gas-fired peak power plant at Centrica’s Brigg Energy Park, North Lincolnshire. The trial that took place last Thursday (11 September) marks a UK first in using hydrogen to decarbonise peak power generation supplying power directly to the electricity grid.

These three opening paragraphs add detail.

HiiROC’s modular hydrogen production technology, using Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE), produced hydrogen on site which was then blended at a 3% ratio for the purposes of a one-hour trial.

The trial marks a further step forward in Centrica’s ongoing efforts to advance innovative solutions for the decarbonisation of its portfolio of gas plants, demonstrating that existing gas infrastructure can operate on a hydrogen blend to provide reliable, low carbon electricity to UK homes and businesses. More broadly, the trial shows a viable route for delivering on decarbonisation readiness obligations for peaker generation as part of the UK’s journey to net zero.

It is also a key milestone in HiiROC’s journey, demonstrating the effectiveness and affordability of HiiROC’s TPE process, which produces hydrogen without CO2 emissions, making it compliant with the UK’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard (LCHS). By leveraging the existing gas network and co-locating hydrogen production where it is needed, operators can decarbonise without costly new infrastructure.

Note.

  1. This test was only at a low level of hydrogen.
  2. Brigg power station is a 240 MW power station, which is fuelled by natural gas.

A long journey starts with a single step.

September 16, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , | 4 Comments

North Sea Oil Group Equinor Scales Back Investment In Renewables

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.

This is the sub-heading.

Equinor, which is attempting to develop one of the largest untapped oilfields in UK waters, also raised its fossil fuel production targets

This is the first paragraph.

The Norwegian state-backed oil company that is attempting to develop one of the largest untapped oil fields in UK waters, has dramatically scaled back its investment in renewables and raised its fossil fuel production targets, becoming the latest of the world’s energy giants to row back on the push towards green power.

A quiet revolution is happening that will change our use of natural gas very much for the better.

  • In Rhodesia, which is a suburb of Worksop, a 24 MW Rolls-Royce mtu diesel peaker power plant, that runs on natural gas, but is also hydrogen-ready, has been installed to boost the electricity supply. The diesel engine is fitted with carbon capture and produces food-grade CO2, which is sold for food and engineering uses.
  • Most of the excellent British tomatoes and soft fruit, we have been eating this winter, is grown in greenhouses, heated by natural gas-powered combined heat and power units, where the CO2 produced is captured and fed to the plants.
  • HiiROC is a start-up from Hull, who are backed by Centrica, who use a plasma process to split any hydrocarbon gas including waste gas from a chemical plant, biomethane from a sewage works or natural gas into pure hydrogen and carbon black, which is needed to manufacture tyres and other products, and also to improve soil.
  • In the last few months, a HiiROC device has been installed at Brigg power station, to generate zero-carbon electricity from natural gas.
  • Imagine a housing or factory estate, a farm or perhaps a large country house, that wants to decarbonise. The gas feed to the property would be fitted with a HiiROC device and all gas appliances and boilers would be converted to hydrogen.
  • I also believe that houses and other premises could have their own hydrogen pumps to fill up cars, ride-on mowers and other vehicles.
  • Avnos is a company from the US, that captures CO2 from the air. What makes Avnos unique is that for every ton of CO2 it captures, it captures five tons of pure water.

More ideas like these are being developed.

What is wrong in using natural gas, to generate heat and electricity, if it doesn’t emit any CO2 into the atmosphere?

 

I suspect, that Equinor believe there will be a market for natural gas for years, as more and more clever ways to use it and turn it into hydrogen are developed.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Food, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hydrogen Business Model / Net Zero Hydrogen Fund: Shortlisted Projects Allocation Round 2022

The title if this post, is the same as this notice from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

These are the the first three paragraphs.

The shortlist contains the following electrolytic hydrogen projects, totalling 408MW of capacity across England, Scotland and Wales.

Projects that have not been shortlisted for this allocation round are encouraged to submit updated bids for the second allocation round – see more details.

We expect to award contracts totalling up to 250MW of capacity from HAR1, subject to affordability and value for money. We aim for contracts to be awarded in Q4 2023, with first projects becoming operational in 2025.

Note.

  1. A rough calculation says that 408 MW of electrolysers could product about 177 tonnes of hydrogen per day.
  2. It’s not long to the fourth quarter of 2023, when hopefully we shall know more.

These are the seventeen shortlisted projects.

Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder

Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder is being developed by SSE Thermal in Yorkshire.

This paragraph outlines the operation of the Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder.

The concept would see green power sourced from grid through Renewable PPAs, in compliance with the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard. Hydrogen would then be produced via a 35MW electrolyser before being stored in a converted salt cavern and then used in a 100% hydrogen-fired turbine, exporting flexible green power back to grid at times of system need. In future, hydrogen storage will also benefit offtakers in other sectors, for example in industry, heat or transport.

Initial storage at Aldbrough could be as high as 320 GWh.

I went to see their presentation in June and wrote about my visit in Did I See The UK’s Hydrogen-Powered Future In Hull Today?.

Barrow Green Hydrogen

Barrow Green Hydrogen is being developed by Carlton Power in North West England.

The Barrow Green Hydrogen project has its own web site, where this is the introductory paragraph.

Barrow Green Hydrogen is an industry leading project, that will use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen fuel which will decarbonise industry, and in the future, transport and heating. The development will have an initial capacity of 35 MW, which will produce enough hydrogen to heat the equivalent of 14,000 homes. The project has the potential to expand to several hundred megawatts.

There is also a section, that is entitled; Why Barrow?, where this is said.

Barrow-in-Furness is ideally located because the area has several industrial sites, which are able to take green hydrogen without extensive modification to decarbonise their operations, which otherwise rely on natural gas. Further to this, it is well placed to serve commercial applications in other areas of Cumbria, once the project is scaled up and these applications become hydrogen ready. The site in Barrow is also well positioned to use renewable electricity from existing installations and will also enable additional new generation capacity to be installed.

In Government Hydrogen Boost To Help Power Kimberly-Clark Towards 100% Green Energy Target, I explain how this hydrogen hub will supply one of Kimberly-Clark’s factories with hydrogen to replace natural gas.

 

Bradford Low Carbon Hydrogen

Bradford Low Carbon Hydrogen is being developed by Hygen in Yorkshire.

These paragraphs from this press release on the Hygen web site outline the operation of Bradford Low Carbon Hydrogen.

A partnership between gas distributor Northern Gas Networks (NGN) and clean energy pioneers Hygen Energy (Hygen) and Ryze Hydrogen for an ambitious low carbon hydrogen production and dispensing facility in the heart of Bradford has been shortlisted for government funding.

NGN, the gas distributor for the North East, Cumbria and much of Yorkshire, is carrying out the project in a Joint Venture with the two companies.

The project will be built on NGN’s decommissioned gas storage site of Bowling Back Lane in the heart of Bradford. It will deliver one of the UK’s largest low carbon hydrogen production facilities with a clear objective of using renewable energy to power an electrolyser which will produce clean hydrogen. The site will also have on-site refuelling for hydrogen vehicles, EV charging, and a low carbon technology education centre. Residents and businesses in West Yorkshire will be able to use the refuelling facilities, with Ryze distributing hydrogen to industrial users across the region.

Note.

  1. The press release has an excellent visualisation of the project.
  2. Using a site that was previously used for gas storage, must give advantages in designing the project and its operational procedures.
  3. If anybody knows the capacity, please tell me!

It looks like a hydrogen facility for all of Bradford, its citizens and its businesses.

Cheshire Green Hydrogen

Cheshire Green Hydrogen is being developed by Progressive Energy Net Zero in North West England.

This press release from HyNet NorthWest gives these details.

HyNet partner, Progressive Energy, Statkraft and Foresight, will be working together to jointly develop a suite of green (‘electrolytic’) hydrogen projects in the North West of England.

This includes the proposed 28 megawatt (MW) Cheshire Green Hydrogen project which will use renewable electricity from Frodsham wind farm in Cheshire. This will generate green hydrogen which will supply low carbon hydrogen via the HyNet project’s planned pipeline.

The initial phase of 100MW of projects will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industry by up to 180,000 tonnes.

The initial capacity will be 28 MW.

Commercial Scale Demonstrator

Commercial Scale Demonstrator is being developed by ERM Dolphyn in Scotland.

There is not much specific information on the ERM Dolphyn web site.

Cromarty Hydrogen Project

Cromarty Hydrogen Project is being developed by Pale Blue Dot Energy in Scotland.

This paragraph describes the Cromarty Hydrogen Project.

The facility would have a maximum output of up to 50 megawatt (MW) although this is likely to be limited in the first instance to around 30MW and be able to produce up to 20,000 kg of green hydrogen per day. The facility will have multiple electrolysers feeding on-site low pressure storage containers. The hydrogen will then be compressed onto tube trailers for transportation off-site to customers. It is our intention to use low or zero carbon fuels for the hydrogen transport vehicles wherever possible.

There is a lot of information on the web site.

Gigastack

Gigastack is being developed by Phillips 66 in North East England.

The Gigastack web site appears to be lacking in updates.

Gordonbush Hydrogen Project (GBH2)

Gordonbush Hydrogen Project is being developed by SSE Renewables in Scotland.

The proposed development is introduced like this.

The proposed development comprises a green hydrogen production facility. This would be located within the existing infrastructure of Gordonbush Wind Farm.

At this stage, the detailed design has not been fully developed and a level of refinement of the scheme is expected prior to submission of the planning application.

As with much of what SSE Renewables does, it seems a very professional project.

Green Hydrogen 1, 2 And 3

I’ll discuss these three projects together.

  • Green Hydrogen 1 is being developed by RES and Octopus Renewables in Scotland.
  • Green Hydrogen 2 is being developed by RES and Octopus Renewables in Wales.
  • Green Hydrogen 3 is being developed by RES and Octopus Renewables in South East England.

RES and Octopus Renewables have formed a joint company called Hyro.

On the Hyro web site, this is said on the opening page.

Market Leaders Coming Together For Decarbonisation

HYRO is a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES

RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy developer – having delivered 23GW of generation in 11 countries.

Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy. The team manages over 3GW of green power assets worth £5bn across 11 countries. It’s the generation arm of Octopus Energy Group, the global energy tech pioneer, using technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution.

That’s not a bad opening statement.

In Government Hydrogen Boost To Help Power Kimberly-Clark Towards 100% Green Energy Target, I explain how Green Hydrogen 2 and 3 will supply two of Kimberly-Clark’s factories with hydrogen to replace natural gas.

The initial capacity of Green Hydrogen 2 and 3 will be 50 MW. So will Green Hydrogen 1, 2 and 3 all be 25 MW electrolysers?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hyro doing more deals with large natural gas users.

H2 Production Plant at High Marnham

H2 Production Plant at High Marnham is being developed by J G Pears in the East Midlands of England.

J G Pears is the driver here and the About page of their web site is a must-read.

This section describes their approach.

From our humble beginnings, we have grown to become one of the largest businesses in the UK animal by-products sector. We’ve achieved this thanks to constant innovation and investment plus a relentless focus on building relationships with customer and partner businesses.

Innovation, investment and customer focus.

We actively look for new and better ways to work, and invest continuously in new ideas and processes. We plan everything we do around the twin goals of making our operations as clean and green as possible and delivering products and services that meet customer needs.

And this section details their story.

We started as a family business, and we’re still a family business. But today, our family now includes a group of companies, customers and suppliers worldwide, and a large workforce across our various sites.

The story starts in 1972, with the Pears family developing a livestock farming business in and around Penistone, South Yorkshire.

As time went on, the family farming business diversified into animal by-product and food waste collection services. More recently we added two by-product processing facilities to the Group’s activity portfolio. This ensures complete control of our end to end collection and processing services.

The original family farm in Penistone is still very much part of the business, continuing our farming heritage and housing the Group’s head office.

They’ve recently added a combined heat and power plant (CHP).

These two paragraphs describe how they use the CHP.

The CHP plant generates renewable energy by providing steam and electricity to our existing businesses as well as exporting its excess electrical power to the National Grid.

This biomass-fired CHP plant will use meat and bone meal (MBM) to replace over 90% of the fossil fuels used in the current business processes. MBM is a sustainable alternative with a calorific value of the same magnitude as coal, meaning that more than 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be saved per year. MBM can also be sourced more locally than the fuels currently used, which in turn reduces carbon emissions from transport and transport kilometres.

It’s a new one on me, to use meat and bone meal to replace coal.

Their services and products are worth a look.

The company are certainly proof of the old Yorkshire saying of “Where there’s muck there’s brass!”

HyBont

HyBont is being developed by Marubeni Europower on Wales.

Hybont has a comprehensive web site, where this is said about the concept.

We are developing plans for a green hydrogen production and refuelling facility at Brynmenyn Industrial Estate, partially powered by a solar farm at Bryncethin.

A wide number of uses for the hydrogen, including vehicle fuelling are proposed.

HyGreen Teesside

HyGreen Teesside is being developed by BP Alternative Energy Investments in North East England.

HyGreen Teesside has a comprehensive web site, where this is said about the project.

HyGreen Teesside aims to be one of the biggest green hydrogen production facilities in the UK. Green hydrogen is made by electrolysing water using power from low carbon energy sources such as solar or wind.

Located in Teesside, HyGreen Teesside is targeting 80MWe of green hydrogen capacity by 2025 – and targeting growth to 500 MW by 2030, delivering up to 5% of the UK government’s hydrogen target of 10GW by 2030.

It is eventually going to be a large electrolyser.

Langage Green Hydrogen

Langage Green Hydrogen is being developed by Carlton Power in South West England.

Langage Green Hydrogen has a comprehensive web site, where this is said about the project.

Langage Green Hydrogen is an industry leading project, that will use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen fuel which will decarbonise industry, and in the future, transport and heating. The development will have an initial capacity of 10 MW, which will produce enough hydrogen to heat the equivalent of 14,000 homes. The project is part of the wider Langage Energy Park.

 

Note.

 

Quill 2

Quill 2 is being developed by INOVYN ChlorVinyls in North West England.

There is very little about Quill 2 on the Internet.

Personally, I find that a pity, as I used to work on what is now INOVYN’s Runcorn site.

Tees Green Hydrogen

Tees Green Hydrogen is being developed by EDF Renewables Hydrogen in North East England.

This page on the EDF Renewables web site gives this spotlight for Tees Green Hydrogen.

Tees Green Hydrogen, will be a pioneering project, using the green electricity from nearby Teesside Offshore Wind Farm along with a new solar farm, which EDF Renewables UK intends to construct near Redcar, to power its hydrogen electrolyser. The project will supply local business customers with hydrogen to support decarbonisation efforts and a significant reduction in industrial pollution.

There is also an informative animation.

This is said about the capacity.

In its initial phase, the electrolyser will have a 7.5MW capacity. It is hoped that work could begin on site in 2024, with the facility operational by 2026. Future phases will seek to deliver up to 300MW in Teesside before 2030.

Quel énorme!

Trafford Green Hydrogen

Trafford Green Hydrogen is being developed by Carlton Power in North West England.

This is the introduction on the project web page.

Trafford Green Hydrogen is an industry leading project, that will use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen fuel for industry, transport and heating. The development will have an ultimate capacity of 200MW, which will be sufficient to take around 8,000 petrol cars off the road annually. The initial phase will be 20MW.

Carlton are also developing two other projects;

West Wales Hydrogen Project – Phase 1

West Wales Hydrogen Project – Phase 1 is being developed by H2 Energy and Trafigura in Wales.

The best source of information is this must-watch Youtube video.

The company appears to be able to lease you a hydrogen truck on a pay per mile basis, at the same price as a diesel truck.

Get the finance right for your customers and yourself and everybody will be happy.

Whitelee Green Hydrogen

Whitelee Green Hydrogen is being developed by Scottish Power in Scotland.

The Whitelee wind farm is described like this on this web page.

Whitelee is the UK’s largest onshore windfarm, located on Eaglesham Moor just 20 minutes from central Glasgow. Its 215 turbines generate up to 539 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 350,000 homes*.

With more than 130 kilometres of trails to explore, on foot, by cycle or by horse, with free parking and free entry to our onsite Visitor Centre, Whitelee is a great destination for a day out with the whole family.

I wrote about this project in Whitelee Green Hydrogen Facility To Power Public Transport.

Conclusion

These projects will create a lot of green hydrogen.

These are my highlights.

  • J G Pears, who have developed an animal by-products business with a distinct green agenda.
  • Kimberly-Clark planning three hydrogen plants in Cumbria, Kent and North Wales to decarbonise their paper products business.
  • The up to 300 MW Tees Green Hydrogen being developed by EDF Renewables.
  • The H2 Energy and Trafigura hydrogen truck business in West Wales.

Don’t forget to watch the video for the last project.

 

 

 

August 19, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Government Hydrogen Boost To Help Power Kimberly-Clark Towards 100% Green Energy Target

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Kimberly-Clark.

These five paragraphs describe how Kimberly-Clark is decarbonising their manufacture of household products.

Three green hydrogen projects that Kimberly-Clark is developing with energy industry partners have won places on the UK Government’s Hydrogen Business Model Strategy (HBMS) shortlist.

The scheme will kickstart the UK’s low carbon hydrogen economy by funding a first-round allocation of 250MW of electrolytic hydrogen projects across England, Scotland and Wales.

Kimberly-Clark, the parent company of leading household brands including Andrex®, Kleenex®, Huggies®, WypAll® and Scott®, expects to reduce its natural gas consumption in the UK by 61% when these three projects are operational at the end of 2025, subject to final government contract.

The three hydrogen projects selected by The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) include a green hydrogen hub in Barrow-in-Furness. Being developed in partnership with Carlton Power, the Barrow Green Hydrogen hub will power Kimberly-Clark’s Cumbria manufacturing facility.

The other two projects are being developed in partnership with HYRO, a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and renewable energy company RES, and will see green hydrogen supplied to Kimberly-Clark’s manufacturing facilities in Flint, North Wales, and Northfleet in Kent. In total, the three schemes are expected to provide a total of 50MW of green hydrogen.

Will toilet paper and tissues be softer, if they are made with hydrogen?

I won’t change the products, I use, as I already use Andrex and Kleenex.

 

August 18, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Renewable Hydrogen Will Replace Natural Gas In Millions Of Australian Households

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.

This is the introductory paragraph.

Under a new Australian government-backed initiative, millions of households across the country will be supplied with renewable hydrogen in the place of natural gas.

The project will start in a small way by adding 10 % of hydrogen to the natural gas networks by the end of 2022.

Eventually, hydrogen will completely replace natural gas.

According to one of the comments to the article, ITM Power will supply the electrolysers.

That could be a nice little order.

December 28, 2020 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , | Leave a comment