The Scottish government has awarded £3.4 million in funding to 11 projects to boost the development of the green hydrogen sector.
The projects were awarded a share of the £3.4 million funding pot, with funding granted to projects covering multiple areas of the hydrogen industry including production, transport, storage infrastructure, and developments for the broader hydrogen supply chain.
In September of last year, developers of green hydrogen projects were invited to apply for this grant, which is awarded as a match-funded grant of up to 50% with a maximum value of £2 million. A total of 18 projects reached the shortlist stage for the award, which was then narrowed down to 11 successful winners.
Grants awarded range from £147,122, granted to Hydrasun to aid its plans to develop standardised tube trailer industrial hydrogen offtaker panels in number of areas across Scotland, all the way to £490,088, which was awarded to Green Cat Hydrogen for development of its Creca Hydrogen Facility in the Dumfries and Galloway region.
Green Cat Hydrogen was the recipient of three grants from this funding pot, having also been awarded £320,000 for its Strathallan Hydrogen project and £258,478 for its Binn Ecopark Hydrogen project. Both of these will be located in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland.
Some major players in the energy industry were also awarded grant funding. Statkraft’s green hydrogen arm was awarded £270,500 for a project set to be located in the Shetland Islands, while SSE Hydrogen Developments secured £162,600 for its Peterhead 1&2 Hydrogen project in Aberdeenshire.
Opening a parliamentary debate on Scotland’s hydrogen future, acting net zero cabinet secretary Gillian Martin called hydrogen “a critical pillar” of Scotland’s path to its goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2045, adding that the hydrogen industry represents one of Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunities since the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea.
Martin noted that a just transition is “at the heart of our approach” adding that the Scottish government is “working to build a hydrogen economy in which the benefits of our energy transition are shared, and which harnesses the full potential of our skilled people, our worldclass industries, and our natural resources.”
Scotland has been positioning itself as a key hub for the green hydrogen industry, with construction recently beginning on EnergyWorks, a £9.1 million facility in Aberdeen designed to develop the next revolution across various green energy technologies, including green hydrogen. The ground-breaking ceremony last November was attended by energy minister Michael Shanks, who will be the keynote speaker at Solar Media’s Green Hydrogen Summit in London on 1-2 July.
Meanwhile, Statera Energy announced last month that it had secured planning approval for what is set to be the UK’s largest green hydrogen project, located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Kintore Green Hydrogen project will produce zero-carbon green hydrogen from renewable energy, including from surplus wind power from Scottish wind farms that would otherwise need to be turned off at times of high generation and low demand.
