Cheshire to become world leaders in green energy
Stanlow Oil Refinery will become the UK’s first low carbon hydrogen plant
Essar Oil UK’s Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port has been awarded £7.5m to produce low carbon hydrogen, following a Government backed deal.
The scheme 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.
When operational, Stanlow will capture 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum, which is the equivalent of taking over 250,000 cars off the road.
Over 95% of carbon used in the process of making hydrogen will be captured and stored, using new carbon capture technology.
This will allow the facility to deliver low cost and low carbon hydrogen at scale and high efficiency, and with a very high carbon capture rate.
The project aims to turn the Ellesmere Port Industrial Area into a centre for the UK's green industrial revolution and was described as a 'central pillar' of the HyNet North West initiative, which could bring almost 11,000 jobs and £1.8billion of investment to the region.
Ellesmere Port and Neston MP, Justin Madders, tweeted: 'This project is so important in terms of reducing carbon emissions and protecting industrial jobs so it is fantastic that the green light has been given!'
The scheme is part of a world-first hydrogen project backed by the HyNet consortium in the North West.
HyNet are aiming to cut emissions quicker than other industry clusters across the country – reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 10m tonnes every year by 2030, which is the equivalent of taking 4m cars off the road.
David Parkin, Director, Progressive Energy and spokesperson for the North West Hydrogen Alliance 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.”
How is the hydrogen made?
The cheapest way to create hydrogen is to spray steam on white-hot coals and out comes mostly hydrogen gas (40%) and carbon monoxide (50%). Because the carbon monoxide produced along with it is highly poisonous, the carbon monoxide can be burned, which extracts the last bit of energy and turns it into the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
This process has been labelled "blue hydrogen".
Carbon is a biproduct when creating hydrogen, and must be stored underground to ensure the project reduces carbon emissions.
The carbon created will be stored off the coast of the River Mersey and River Dee, travelling through a pipeline that will run through North Wales.
Although the carbon will be stored underground, there is still the question of what will happen to this carbon in the future.
There have been concerns as to whether "blue hydrogen" is actually a green alternative, as some research suggests it could actually be worse than burning coal.
A peer-reviewed study published in Energy Science & Engineering, an open-source journal, concluded that "the greenhouse gas footprint of blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat and some 60% greater than burning diesel oil for heat."
Back in August, the chair of the UK Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association, Christopher Jackson, stepped down because he could no longer support blue hydrogen, which he warned could prolong fossil fuel use and damage the nation's climate agenda.
Jackson posted on LinkedIn: 'I believe passionately that I would be betraying future generations by remaining silent on that fact that blue hydrogen is at best an expensive distraction, and at worst a lock-in for continued fossil fuel use that guarantees we will fail to meet our decarbonisation goals'.
An alternative hydrogen would be to create 100% CO2-free "green hydrogen", made via electrolysis from renewable power and water, which is more expensive to make than both blue and grey hydrogen.
Will the hydrogen be used locally?
The hydrogen created will be used locally, like in St Helens as part of the glass-making process, which will be a world first.
Over at Unilever’s Port Sunlight site, the demonstration will be the first meaningful use of hydrogen in a commercial scale boiler.