Asset management firm px Group has confirmed its Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull is to incorporate a 100MW green hydrogen facility via new investment.
In a statement, it was confirmed that an investment of between £180 million and £240 million is set to be made by Meld Energy, a UK-based developer specialising in industrial green hydrogen. The project is scheduled to be completed in early 2027.
Although the 100MW capacity for the project would make it one of the largest of its kind in the UK today, it is not the largest that has been proposed to date. It is important to note that there are a number of proposed projects that are larger than the Saltend project including Statera’s 3GW plant in Scotland and Carlton Power’s proposed 200MW Trafford green hydrogen project.
Despite this, px Group have confirmed that the capacity of the project could be increased to around 200MW making it similar in capacity to the Trafford project. This will be achieved via a second development phase.
Green hydrogen will be produced onsite via electrolysis powered by renewable electricity, which is expected to be supplied through a number of power purchase agreements (PPAs) secured by Meld.
The green hydrogen is then to be used to provide energy onsite at Saltend, helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the chemicals park with Humber regarded as one of the “most carbon-intensive regions in the UK”.
“Meld Energy’s decision to invest at Saltend Chemicals Park proves once again that Saltend is the go-to location for industrial decarbonisation and the UK energy transition,” said Geoff Holmes, CEO of px Group.
“Meld’s plans are on a scale that will make a significant impact on domestic decarbonisation – it is a project that the government should find impossible to ignore. We have a host of world-class industrial companies on site at Saltend and this potential major investment shows once again the strength of the Saltend offering.”
The project could go ahead should it receive development support from the UK’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Should it win government backing, Meld will conduct a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) in November 2023 which would run concurrently with planning application processes. Building would then commence less than a year later with a target operation in early 2027.
“Saltend Chemicals Park is the perfect site for our green hydrogen facility. Saltend has a rich knowledge of decarbonisation projects and, importantly, has future users of the hydrogen to be produced already in place,” said Chris Smith, CEO and founder of Meld Energy.
“This project can be online within four years and would deliver an immediate reduction in emissions once production commences. The facility will have the potential to double its production as demand for hydrogen increases in the future to meet net zero targets.”
