BP is planning to set up a large-scale green hydrogen production plant in northeast England, generated with wind, water and solar energy to aid Britain’s move away from fossil fuels. The project, namely, HyGreen Teesside, seeks to produce 60 MW of green hydrogen from renewable sources by 2025. By 2030, the HyGreen Teesside project, which will be expanded in stages, could produce up to 500 MW of hydrogen.
As per the company’s statement, the two Teesside facilities, along with its previously announced “blue” hydrogen project, which is fuelled by natural gas, have the ability to meet 30 percent of Britain’s hydrogen output target by 2030. Clean hydrogen is expected to play a key part in attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by governments and energy firms, but its future uses and pricing are unknown.
BP plans to begin production in 2025, and the project’s final investment decision is expected in 2023. In July 2021, BP struck a consultancy deal with Quaybridge, a UK-based renewables consultancy with experience in offshore wind, as part of its efforts to expand its renewables business. The two will collaborate to advance BP’s worldwide offshore wind portfolio as part of its zero-carbon growth goal, as well as to expedite the development of BP’s in-house offshore wind knowledge.
By 2030, the British government aims to produce 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen to replace natural gas in about three million homes, as well as industry and transportation.
REGlobal’s Views: Companies like BP are expected to become the leading players in the green hydrogen space owing to their existing experience as well as massive ready oil and gas infrastructure.