Decarbonising the Humber
Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) is a consortium of leading energy and industrial companies and academic institutions with a shared vision to transform the Humber into the UK’s first net zero carbon region by 2040.
Together, they are working to deliver low carbon hydrogen production facilities and essential carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS), together with region-wide infrastructure that will enable large-scale decarbonisation across the country’s most carbon intensive region.
ZCH has partners and supporters involved in every aspect of the value chain, including energy generation, onshore and offshore infrastructure owners and developers, industrial users and supply chain specialists.
And they have all been working incredibly hard to help advance the push to net zero, as the below case studies show.
Zero Carbon Humber joins UK Hydrogen Champion at Humber industry-wide roundtable
Several members from Zero Carbon Humber including Equinor, Uniper, SSE Thermal, ABP and Centrica represented the ambitions of the wider Zero Carbon Humber group. They provided exciting project updates and discussed key issues around hydrogen supply, storage, demand, distribution, and utilisation.
Zero Carbon Humber highlights regional regulatory roadblocks to Shadow Secretary of State, Ed Miliband
Representatives from Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) including Ineos Acetyles, Equinor and Drax joined several other regional businesses at a meeting with Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and current Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. During the event, which was hosted by the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, ZCH highlighted the need for policymakers to remove time-consuming and costly red tape and put the infrastructure in place to help decarbonise the region.
Equinor and Centrica sign co-operation agreement for East Yorkshire hydrogen hub
Centrica and Equinor have signed a co-operation agreement to explore developing a low-carbon hydrogen production hub at Easington in East Yorkshire, further strengthening the region’s growing status as the UK’s foremost hydrogen super place.
Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station becomes UK’s first to gain planning consent
SSE Thermal and Equinor’s Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station in the Humber has become the first power CCS project in the UK to receive planning permission. The proposed plant in North Lincolnshire has received a Development Consent Order following an extensive period of consultation, with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) granting permission after a recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate.
Centrica re-opens Rough storage facility
Centrica has announced the reopening of the Rough gas storage facility, having completed significant engineering upgrades over the summer and commissioning over early autumn. The initial investment programme means the company has made its first injection of gas into the site in over five years and is in a position to store up to 30 billion cubic feet of gas for UK homes and businesses over winter 2022/23, boosting the UK’s energy resilience.
Centrica and HiiROC to inject hydrogen at Brigg gas-fired power station in UK first project
Centrica Business Solutions is set to start injecting hydrogen into its existing gas peaking plant at Brigg, Lincolnshire as part of a UK first trial with HiiROC aimed at better understanding the role of hydrogen in power production. The 12 month trial will be part funded by a grant from the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC), which has given 20 projects a total of £8m through its Open Innovation Programme.
Two senior local authority leaders welcomed to Saltend Chemicals Park & Drax Power Station
This month, Zero Carbon Humber opened the doors to the Saltend Chemicals Park to host two senior local authority representatives. Wallace Sampson is the CEO of Harrogate Council in North Yorkshire, and is also responsible for the net zero strategy for 20+ councils across Yorkshire and the Humber. Ben Stills is CEO of West Yorkshire Combined Authority (which includes Leeds and Sheffield), and looks after transport strategy across the county. Both are key stakeholders in energy and net zero transition for the North of England. Equinor’s Richard Royal, Dominic Martin and Hege Ebeltoft hosted the local leaders at Saltend and Triton Power Station, where representatives from PX, SSE and Centrica joined to discuss the ongoing joint projects. After the visit, they headed to Drax Power Station to meet Plant Director Bruce Heppenstall and CCS Cluster Development Manager Iain Harris. They were given a tour of the power station along with an update of their BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage) project and latest developments.
Uniper and Shell award contracts on the Humber H2ub project
Uniper and Shell UK are progressing their Humber H2ub project, which aims to produce low-carbon hydrogen using gas reformation with carbon capture technology at Uniper’s Killingholme power station site on the south Humber bank. Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies have been awarded contracts to deliver the process design studies. This is to include design of the main hydrogen production and carbon capture plant for the proposed Humber H2ub project.
