Plans for a £40 million hydrogen hub – to provide an alternative energy supply to businesses – have been revealed.
It would be the first such development in Cumbria and give energy-intensive firms easy access to hydrogen fuel.
A new private-public sector partnership has been set up to push forward the project between Carlton Power, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Barrow Borough Council, Cadent and Electricity North West.
The organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding and the 35MW commercial hydrogen hub, would be on industrial-zoned land in Barrow.
Hydrogen is expected to play a major role over the next 20 to 30 years in reducing the UK’s CO₂ emissions, helping the country’s journey towards Net Zero.
The project, subject to planning and financing, will see sustainable hydrogen fuel being produced at scale, creating opportunities for businesses in Cumbria to make net zero plans with hydrogen in mind.
The facility will support the growth of renewable electricity generation by using it to produce and store hydrogen at times when renewable output is high, but demand is low.
Carlton Power said it hoped the hub would be operating by 2025 and intended to seek financial support for the scheme from the Government.
It said it expected that there would be eight full-time operational jobs. During the 18 to 24 months of construction, there could be as many as 200 jobs created.
Eric Adams, hydrogen projects director at Carlton Power, said: “We’re delighted to be working with key regional partners to bring forward this green hydrogen facility, which will help Cumbria’s decarbonisation efforts. It supports the Clean Energy Strategy for Cumbria.”
“It is critical that projects such as this are brought forward to support investment by local companies in their infrastructure that will enable a reduction in the carbon emissions associated with their operations.”
The consortium has expertise in energy infrastructure development, industrial policy, skills and innovation to develop the low carbon hydrogen production and storage facility. Initially, the green hydrogen produced is expected to be used for industrial processes, with scope in the future for vehicle refuelling and residential heating.
Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership will work with Carlton Power to identify and maximise the economic and environmental benefits that the scheme can bring to Barrow and the region, while Electricity North West will provide valuable insight into the existing power networks in the area, the consortium said.
Cadent, the gas distribution company, brings expertise to the Carlton Power consortium as it is already advancing plans to stop carrying methane – the fossil gas that is currently carried through its pipe network – and switch instead to low-carbon hydrogen. Cadent, which manages thousands of miles of underground pipes in this part of Cumbria, expects North West England to be the first to do that at high volume, by the mid-2020s.
Carlton Power said it was in talks with a number of businesses in Barrow and elsewhere in Cumbria that could use hydrogen in their operations.
