Posted: 17:09, August 8, 2022
Updated: August 8, 2022 at 7:07 p.m
A green hydrogen facility is planned at the port of Felixstowe with the potential to decarbonise industry and transport in the eastern region.
Energy firm ScottishPower is exploring the possibility of building and operating the multi-hundred megawatt hub, which could help create a greener port and provide clean fuel to customers at Britain’s busiest container terminal.
Plans are being developed to use green hydrogen for land-based purposes such as road, rail and industrial use, with the potential to create liquid forms such as green ammonia or e-methanol.
This could, in turn, provide clean fuels for shipping and aviation and create opportunities for profitable export to international markets.
Up to 40 tons of hydrogen could be produced each day, enough to power 1,300 hydrogen trucks.
The project aims to continue engineering works and site development to meet customer demand from 2025 onwards.
A ScottishPower spokesman said “home-grown” green hydrogen could provide security in the UK’s energy supply and was a secure, long-term energy solution that could be vital for those unable to decarbonise their operations only with renewable electricity.
As well as accelerating the potential for cleaner industrial processes at the port, green hydrogen was also poised to transform the heavy transport sector, which emits a significant amount of the UK’s current carbon emissions.
The company’s director of hydrogen, Barry Carruthers, said: “This strategically important project could create a clean fuels hub that could unlock significant national decarbonisation for the region, as well as playing a role in international markets.
“It is perfectly located not far from our existing and future offshore wind farms in the East Anglia region and demonstrates how renewable electricity and green hydrogen can now start to help decarbonise roads, rail, shipping and industry”.
Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey backs green hydrogen installations – Credit: GREGG BROWN
Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said: “I welcome the joint plans by Hutchison Ports and ScottishPowers to explore opportunities for a large-scale hydrogen hub at Felixstowe Port, providing green fuel to the container port plus Great Britain.
“It’s schemes like this, and industry and government investment, that are crucial to getting to net zero by 2050.”