From the EV show in London (Source: Reuters/Toby Melville)

The British government will back 11 major hydrogen projects with £2 billion ($2.6 billion) in funding over the next 15 years, Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said mid-December.

The 11 production projects will invest around £400 million up front over the next three years creating more than 700 jobs, the government said.

The projects will produce 125 MW of hydrogen using electrolysis and renewable energy sources, and suppliers will receive a guaranteed price from the government, it said.

Projects include Sofidel in South Wales, which will replace half of their current gas boiler consumption with hydrogen at their Port Talbot paper mill, InchDairnie Distillery in Scotland, which will run a 100% hydrogen boiler for their distilling process, and PD Ports in Teeside, which will replace diesel in their vehicle fleet with hydrogen, decarbonizing port operations from 2026.

“Today’s announcement represents the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen production projects announced at once anywhere in Europe,” said Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho.

The British government aims to deploy up to 10 GW in low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, including funding for up to 4 GW of hydrogen from natural gas and carbon capture and 6 GW of renewable-sourced hydrogen by 2030.

The government also opened a second round of funding for allocation rounds in 2025 and 2026 as part of plans to boost hydrogen capacity to 1.5 GW across these rounds.

“Today’s announcements on the first two hydrogen allocation rounds mark a significant milestone in the development of the UK hydrogen economy. They represent a shift from policy development to project delivery, giving industry more clarity on the route to final investment decisions,” Chief Operating Officer Hydrogen RWE Generation Sopna Sury said.

Separately, the government said it would not proceed with a planned hydrogen trial in Redcar due to a lack of available hydrogen.

The project aimed to replace home natural gas supplies with hydrogen and was the second such projects to be abandoned after similar plans fell through at Ellsemere Port in July.

Lhyfe inaugurates hydrogen sites

French hydrogen company Lhyfe has inaugurated the two largest renewable hydrogen production sites in France, the company said in a statement mid-December.

Lhyfe Bretagne and Lhyfe Occitanie, inaugurated in early December, will supply hydrogen from local transport and industrial processes from the first half of 2024, it said.

Lhyfe Occitanie, owned 80% by Lhyfe and 20% by AREC Occitanie, and Lhyfe Bretagne will each produce up to two tons of renewable hydrogen a day from 5 MW electrolyzers, though can further ramp up production levels depending on demand.

Lhyfe aims to produce up to 80 tons of renewable hydrogen a day by 2026, it said.

The Occitanie H2 Corridor is part of the North-South European hydrogen corridor project, while Lhyfe Bretagne forms part of the VHyGO or Great West Hydrogen Valley initiative, supported by local public and private stakeholders.

Oman, Netherlands, to establish hydrogen corridor

The government of Oman, Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom), Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals, and GasLog have signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) to collaborate on the development of a liquid hydrogen route to market between Oman and Netherlands.

The agreement, signed during COP28, involves conducting a detailed assessment of the requirements to develop an open-access hydrogen liquification, storage, and export facility in Oman, along with the provision of specialized vessels for the transportation of liquid hydrogen under development by GasLog, the Oman Ministry of Energy and Minerals said in a statement.

The primary aim of the accord is to establish a hydrogen corridor between Oman and the Netherlands with the Zenith Energy terminal in the Netherlands the destination for the import, regasification, and distribution of Oman-produced hydrogen.

“As countries around the world race to achieve a hydrogen-based economy, the fundamental challenges of storing and transporting hydrogen on large scale remain open,” said Abdulaziz Al Shidhani, Managing Director of Hydrom.

“Oman is building an economically sustainable future by establishing a fully integrated hydrogen ecosystem. This joining of efforts with the Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog will help bring us one step closer to our shared goal.”

Spain awards 150 mln euros for H2 Pioneers

Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has awarded 150 million euros ($164 million) to 12 clean hydrogen projects under the H2 Pioneers program, the government said in a statement.

The projects will produce hydrogen using electrolyzers powered by renewable energy to replace fossil-fuel produced hydrogen and natural gas, produce ammonia and methanol, be used as transport fuel, and to decarbonize port activities, it said.

The projects will together mobilize total investment worth 578.14 million euros and will have a total electrolysis capacity of 309 MW.

Spain aims to have electrolysis capacity of 300-600 MW by 2024 and 4 GW by 2030.

By Reuters Events Hydrogen