SSE Thermal and Equinor have unveiled plans for what would be one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities in Yorkshire.
On 15 July, they announced the facility, earmarked for their existing Aldbrough site on the East Yorkshire coast, would have an initial capacity of 320GWh and could store low carbon hydrogen from as early as 2028. The current gas storage facility, commissioned in 2011, is co-owned by the pair and has nine underground salt caverns, each equating to around the size of St Paul’s Cathedral. These would be converted to store hydrogen, or new purpose-built caverns could be created.
The Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage facility would be “significantly larger” than any facility currently in operation around the world, while also providing ideally placed to store low carbon hydrogen produced and used in the Humber region.
SSE Thermal and Equinor’s partnership in the Humber would rank as the UK’s first end-to-end hydrogen proposal, seeing production, storage and demand projects connected in the region. It would initially store hydrogen produced for the Keadby Hydrogen Power Station – proposed by SSE Thermal and Equinor as the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fired power station – though owed to its large scale, it would have the potential to extend well beyond power generation. The partners suggest the facility could enable growing hydrogen ambitions across the region, unlock the potential for green hydrogen and supply an expanding offtaker market, including heat, industry and transport, from the late 2020s.
The storage facility, along with the partners’ other projects in the region, are still in the development stage. Final investment decisions will depend on the progress of necessary business models and associated infrastructure.
