Kellas Midstream and leading flexible energy provider SSE Thermal have joined forces in a strategic joint venture. This collaboration marks a crucial step for the H2NorthEast project on Teesside, aiming to become a major player in industry decarbonization, contributing significantly to the UK’s climate targets.
H2NorthEast, a brainchild of Kellas Midstream, is a large-scale infrastructure project designed to establish a 1GW CCUS-enabled blue hydrogen production facility adjacent to Kellas’ CATS (Central Area Transmission System) gas transportation and processing terminal. Currently in the front end engineering design (FEED) phase, the project’s first operational stage is set for 2028, delivering 355MW of low-carbon hydrogen to local industries. Subsequent phases are planned to escalate production to over a gigawatt.
As equal stakeholders in the joint venture, Kellas Midstream and SSE bring complementary strengths to H2NorthEast. Kellas, with its extensive experience in owning and operating critical national energy infrastructure, partners with SSE, one of the UK’s largest electricity generators, renowned for its expertise in low-carbon infrastructure development spanning renewables, networks, and flexible power generation.
H2NorthEast, as a significant contributor, aligns with SSE’s experience in developing projects, including hydrogen and carbon capture, further supporting the UK’s net-zero ambitions and industrial growth. Since its launch in October 2021, H2NorthEast has notched several successes. The project secured government recognition in August 2022 as one of four low-carbon hydrogen projects progressing in the Track 1 cluster sequencing process. It aims to participate in the upcoming Track 1 expansion process. Having entered the front end engineering design phase with global service companies Worley and Johnson Matthey, and with a heads of terms agreement with Statera Energy, H2NorthEast stands as a beacon in the UK’s blue hydrogen landscape.
