The Port of Cromarty Firth has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gen2 Energy AS of Norway, creating a commercial pathway to import green hydrogen.
The partnership, announced on 24 May, will ensure security of supply for the Firth’s plans for a large electrolyser facility, as well as guaranteeing green hydrogen for those who want access to it by the mid-2020s. This means they can now have the confidence to make concrete plans for switching their infrastructure. It also supports the Scottish government’s ambitions of becoming a leading hydrogen nation, generating 5GW of renewable and low carbon hydrogen by 2030.
The agreement adds an “international angle” to the ambition of producing, storing and supplying hydrogen in the Cromarty Firth to the Highland region and other parts of Scotland, along with the UK and Europe. The Firth will become the UK transhipment hub for Gen2 Energy’s hydrogen, which is produced from Norway’s surplus renewable energy and will be shipped across the North Sea, before being distributed by road, rail and sea.
Port of Cromarty Firth Chief Executive, Bob Buskie, said: “Norway’s remote northern regions have similar issues to the Highlands in terms of an excess of renewable energy, and constraints on putting that energy into the electricity grid. However, they are significantly more advanced domestically in the production of green hydrogen. The ability to produce and ship hydrogen to new markets is a huge opportunity for them and they see the Port as a key partner to the UK market.”
