The government has been searching for solutions as the energy crisis continues to wreak havoc on customers who are paying ever-increasing costs.
One way to avoid paying for costly foreign gas imports has been to increase the UK’s renewable capacity, and there is currently a slew of projects in the works to achieve exactly that. The Trafford Green Hydrogen plant in Carrington is one of them, with a completion date of 2024.
The project, which is being developed by Carlton Power and is seeking planning clearance from Trafford and Salford councils, would be the country’s largest hydrogen manufacturing facility.
Green hydrogen fuel for transportation and heating would be produced as part of the initiative. This is a renewable energy source that would help the UK reduce its dependency on gas for power while simultaneously reducing emissions. It is made by electrolysis, a chemical reaction in which an electrical current separates hydrogen from oxygen in the water.
“Hydrogen, and especially green hydrogen produced from renewable energy, is vital to the green transition,” stated Eric Adams, project lead for Trafford Green Hydrogen.
“While the deployment of electrolytic hydrogen projects will enable expanded deployment of new renewable generators throughout the UK to lower the total carbon intensity of the electricity supply industry, hydrogen will enable consumers of natural gas to convert to net zero.”
“The Government’s Energy Security Strategy, of which Hydrogen Investment Packages is a vital component, is designed to allow the generation of hydrogen within the UK, reducing dependency on natural gas imports from elsewhere,” he continued.
In April, the government unveiled its Energy Security Strategy, a £375 million plan to fund new energy technology that will help power British homes and companies in the future years. As part of the Hydrogen Investment Package, £240 million will be allocated to hydrogen-related initiatives.
In the first allocation cycle, which will start in July 2022, the Trafford Green Hydrogen project will seek funding under the Hydrogen Investment Package.
The project will have a total capacity of 200 megawatts. 38,000 houses could be powered with this amount of energy. The UK Hydrogen Strategy, which was released last year, calls for “5GW of low carbon hydrogen generation capacity for usage across the economy by 2030.”
“This could create hydrogen comparable to the amount of gas consumed annually by nearly 3 million houses in the United Kingdom,” it continues. However, the Trafford project is focused on supplying hydrogen to industrial and commercial users. According to Mr. Adams, there is a 10-MW phase for which the business is seeking £25 million to £30 million in funding.
The Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park is the project’s goal. This comprises one of Europe’s largest liquid air energy storage facilities, as well as one of the country’s largest battery storage schemes. While there are a variety of hydrogen programs in the UK to explore if it may be the answer to the worsening issue, Mr. Adams cautioned that Britain should not put all of its eggs in one basket.
“While many hydrogen studies involving the use of hydrogen to residential consumers are happening throughout the UK,” he stated, “it is not yet feasible to assess if hydrogen is a solution to the present energy problem, despite the necessity to create hydrogen infrastructure.”
