Equinor has announced that pre-FEED (front end engineering and design) study contracts have been awarded to develop the 600MW H2H Saltend low carbon hydrogen production plant, one of the world’s first at-scale facilities to produce hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage.
The study will also be used to support the delivery of a further 1,200MW of low-carbon hydrogen production. The hydrogen will be principally used to fuel the Keadby hydrogen power station, which could be the world’s first large scale facility to use 100% hydrogen to generate power.
These projects bring combined hydrogen production capacity of 1.8GW, accounting for a third of the UK government’s 5GW low carbon hydrogen production goal.
Equinor’s H2H Saltend hydrogen plant and Keadby hydrogen power station, which is being developed in partnership with SSE Thermal, are Equinor’s first two UK hydrogen projects that support the wider ambition to decarbonise the Humber and develop the UK’s first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040.
The Humber region is the largest CO2 emitting industrial cluster in the UK. The H2H project is fundamental in helping the region decarbonise its industries.
The contractors will participate in a competition to provide design proposals, as well as a lump sum FEED and option for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) execution and operations. The three selected contractors are the KBR and Tecnimont consortium, Technip Energies consortium and Linde through its businesses at Linde Engineering and BOC UK. The plan is to select one of the consortia to move into the final stage of engineering (FEED) in preparation for a final investment decision in late 2023.
The H2H Saltend project will enable fuel switching in 2026-2027 resulting in a CO2 emissions reduction of 1.1m tonnes per year. Equinor plans to supply hydrogen to Keadby hydrogen power station, expected to start-up in 2028-29 with a resulting CO2 emissions reduction of close to 2m tonnes per year.
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