On the 30th of March, the UK government announced its new security energy plan, with measures implemented to release funding to several projects in order to achieve the national net-zero targets.

The primary action adopted involved CCUS (Carbon Caption, Use and Storage)  projects. In the previous weeks, the government announced the allocation of £20B over the next 20 years to CCUS projects.

The following CCUS projects  from the East Cost Cluster and the Hynet cluster have been selected during this round (both clusters were already selected by the government as Track-1  back in November 2021):

• Net Zero Teesside Power
• bpH2Teesside
• Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture
• Hanson Padeswood Cement Works CCS Project
• Viridor Runcorn Industrial CCS
• Protos Energy Recovery Facility
• Buxton Lime Net Zero
• HyNet Hydrogen Production Plant 1 (HPP1)

A notable exclusion from this list is the Humber cluster (VPI Immingham, Philip 66, DRAX BECCS, Keadby 3, Scunthorpe steelworks and Equinor Saltend).

However, according to the government, an additional process should be put in place later this year to include more projects by 2030, with the Humber specifically mentioned.

Acorn and Viking CCS projects were also not part of this selection round, although they have been described as “leading contenders” for the next phase (Track-2).

In addition to CCUS, the government has also allocated funding to 20 hydrogen projects.

Here is the complete list.

Additional funding was also secured by nuclear, wind and solar farm projects.

KTS Energy Solutions Ltd works with manufacturers supplying a wide range of products suitable for the whole range of energy projects, from oil&gas to renewables.
For additional info on our equipment, please click here 

Hydrogen (H2) is considered by many the future of energy and it could replace fossil fuels as a clean combustible for transportation, stationary power and other uses.

Many countries, such as Europe, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Kazakhstan are investing substantial resources in developing technologies and solutions aimed to optimise the production of hydrogen and achieve theirs decarbonisation targets.

The UK is among the leading countries, with around 100 companies and 35 University’s groups dedicated to the development of technologies for the production of hydrogen.

There are currently three main ways to produce hydrogen:

• Grey Hydrogen: the energy required for the electrolysis is obtained by the combustion of fossil fuels
• Blue Hydrogen: similar to the grey type but with a system to capture the CO2 generated in the combustion (CCS), which guarantees a greener process although with higher costs.
• Green Hydrogen: the energy required for the electrolysis is 100% obtained by renewable energies, in particular from offshore wind installations.

With this infographic, Petrofac perfectly summarises the different ways of producing hydrogen.

Another aspect to consider is that old gas platforms near the end of their working life could be refurbished and modified to produce hydrogen, using energy generated by near offshore wind farms for the electrolysis process.

Next week, the eyes of the entire world will be on COP26, the climate change conference held in Glasgow, where the hope is that significant decisions will be taken and that will positively affect the future of hydrogen.

KTS and its principals are currently supporting a series of hydrogen production projects such as a low carbon Hydrogen production facility and a green hydrogen from offshore floating wind project, both here in the UK; equipment involved includes:

• Valves
• Forged fittings, flanges and tubes
• F&G and Firefighting Equipment
• Nitrogen Generator Packages
• Oil injected air compressors
• API610 Pumps
• Electrical Switchgear

For additional info about our principals’ equipment and capabilities in hydrogen production projects please contact us.

Image by akitada31 from Pixabay