Signed today (6th July), the agreement will see development of the 800 MW (megawatt) facility at the Humber Hydrogen Hub (H3) to help decarbonise VPI’s power production centre located in the Humber, an industrial cluster that produces the highest levels of industrial CO2 emissions in the UK.
Used as a substitute fuel for VPI’s existing third gas turbine power train, the low-carbon hydrogen will be twinned with the use of post-combustion capture technology on trains one and two at VPI Immingham.
By combining decarbonisation technologies, H3 could help reduce two-thirds of the emissions from its Immingham industrial site and capture up to two million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Air Products Chief Operating Officer Dr. Samir J. Serhan and VPI Chairman Russell Hardy.
Source: Air Products
Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Samir J. Serhan, COO, Air Products, said, “Having a partner who is committed to decarbonising their existing power production operations through the use of low-carbon hydrogen provides the secure hydrogen offtake that makes this an excellent opportunity for us to support them and the UK Government’s broader sustainability targets.”
To reach the UK Government’s target of realising 10 GW (gigawatts) of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, an application was submitted by the H3 project for ‘Strand 1’ funding as part of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) – an initiative undertaken by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to scale up hydrogen production.
Scaling up has been a long-term target for the Humber Zero project since being developed over two years ago, according to Jonathan Briggs, Project Director, VPI, who added that a low-carbon hydrogen solution for VPI’s third train was a ‘critically important’ part of its mission to decarbonise Immingham.
“VPI is investing heavily in the energy transition and supporting the creation of a hydrogen economy in the UK as part of the overall drive towards achieving net zero in the coming decades,” he concluded.