Air Products and Associated British Ports (ABP) have linked up, signalling their ambitions to bring a first, large-scale green hydrogen production facility to the UK, describing it as a first-mover project that will help to stimulate demand and support the development of a local and national green hydrogen market.
By being based at the Port of Immingham, the facility would be able to import green ammonia from production locations operated by Air Products and its partners worldwide, before then using this to make green hydrogen. ABP will invest in new infrastructure, namely a new jetty to support the import and export handling of liquid bulk products. This would also be designed in such a way that it can accommodate other cargoes connected to the energy transition, such as the import of liquified carbon dioxide from carbon capture and storage projects for sequestration in the North Sea.
Sat within the UK’s largest industrial cluster, Immingham offers the required maritime infrastructure and sits close to proposed offshore transport and storage networks for CO2. It is also where Air Products has already chosen to develop what will be one of the UK’s largest blue hydrogen facilities, meaning the Humber is a “major location for low carbon energy production, businesses and jobs”.
For its part, the green hydrogen facility is expected to eliminate 580,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, the same as taking 20,000 diesel HGVs off the roads. It will also have an impact on nitrous oxide and particulate emissions. It is also forecast to bring in as much as $4.6bn (£3.95bn) in growth and financial benefits to the region, providing 1,400 direct jobs and around a further 1,600 indirect roles for supply chains and local businesses.
