The energy company has drawn up proposals for a 100 megawatt plant at the port of Suffolk, which would provide enough fuel to power 1,300 hydrogen trucks from 2026. The company, which is owned by Spanish 63 billion utility giant Iberdrola, said demand for the green fuel has increased since gasoline and diesel prices began to soar last year, encouraging the company to invest. It has applied to the government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which provides government support for the development of low-carbon hydrogen projects over the next three years. ScottishPower estimated the whole project could cost between £100m and £150m. ScottishPower plans to build the facility, which will be about the size of a football pitch, on land at the port site, which is one of the UK’s busiest and a commercial hub. Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity to drive an electrolyzer that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas is burned to produce energy, emitting only water vapor and hot air and no greenhouse gases. Quick guide
What are the hydrogen options?
projection Hydrogen effect Hydrogen is seen as a critical tool in the UK government’s plan to reduce the country’s emissions to net zero by 2050. The clean gas could be used to replace fossil gas in factories and refineries or as a fuel for heavy transport such as shipping, without emitting greenhouse gases. Although hydrogen itself is a clean fuel, the process of producing hydrogen can be extremely polluting. Most of the world’s hydrogen is produced from fossil gases and releases millions of tons of carbon emissions every year. There are three main types of hydrogen: Gray hydrogenAbout 71% of the hydrogen used today is known as “grey hydrogen”. It is extracted from the methane found in fossil gas, using a process known as methane steam reforming, and releases carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere where it contributes to global warming. It is extremely harmful to the environment. Blue hydrogenThis ‘low-carbon’ alternative to gray hydrogen uses carbon capture technology to capture between 85% and 95% of the harmful emissions created by hydrogen production, which could then be piped to underground storage facilities , such as disused undersea gas caverns under the North. Sea. Blue hydrogen is not a net zero fuel because it requires fossil fuel production, which causes emissions and releases up to 15% of emissions as gray hydrogen. Green hydrogenGreen hydrogen is produced by splitting water molecules using an electrolysis device powered by renewable electricity. The only by-product is oxygen which can be safely released into the air. Renewable energy developers believe giant offshore wind farms could be used to power green hydrogen production, particularly at night when electricity demand is low. Thanks for your response. ScottishPower plans to supply hydrogen to the vehicles and machinery used by the Port of Felixstowe, which is owned by Hutchison Ports, part of Hong Kong-based multinational CK Hutchison. Around 6,000 heavy goods vehicles a year use the port and logistics providers are increasingly looking at hydrogen as an option to reduce fuel bills and carbon emissions. Hydrogen will also be used to power trains used for port rail freight and ships. Glasgow-based ScottishPower already has significant interests in East Anglia, where it owns offshore wind farms. Iberdrola owns the largest green hydrogen production facility for industrial use in Europe, in Puertollano, Spain. Barry Carruthers, director of hydrogen at ScottishPower, told the Guardian: “The strength of demand from the port itself, logistics and distribution companies and rail freight companies gave the utility the confidence to go ahead with this facility. This is a large industrial scale project that we are doing at pace. “The cost of hydrogen is now comparable to diesel, so it can be cheaper and cleaner for customers. The market has given us a really good glide path.” ScottishPower is already in the process of developing a smaller hydrogen facility at Whitelee, the UK’s largest onshore wind farm near Glasgow, in partnership with ITM Power of Sheffield. The 20MW electrolyzer, which is due to produce hydrogen by next year, is expected to produce up to 8 tonnes of green hydrogen per day, roughly equivalent to powering 550 buses to travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh and back each day. Carruthers said the Felixstowe site would also offer the opportunity to produce “green ammonia” from green hydrogen, which can then be used in agricultural fertiliser. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk Further up the Suffolk coast, environmental campaigners protested proposals for the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power station. However, Carruthers said the proposed hydrogen plant “will not dominate the skyline” and is likely to be built within the port. “For local people it should mean less pollution from diesel and cleaner energy for trains and trucks in the region,” he said. Last week it was announced that dock workers in Felixstowe belonging to the Unite union are planning an eight-day strike over pay which is expected to cause major disruption at the UK’s largest container port.