Aberdeenshire Council has approved Statera Energy’s 3 GW Kintore Hydrogen project—set to become the nation’s largest utility-scale green hydrogen production facility.
Positioned to leverage surplus Scottish offshore wind and inject clean hydrogen into the national gas transmission network, the project is being positioned as a strategic asset for both regional economic growth and national decarbonization.
With an initial phase targeting 500 MW of electrolytic hydrogen capacity, the Kintore facility is planned to draw renewable electricity from SSEN’s Kintore Substation, converting excess wind generation that would otherwise be curtailed into usable hydrogen. Water required for electrolysis will be sourced from the nearby River Don. Once fully built out, the project’s 3 GW scale would represent one of the largest green hydrogen installations in Europe.
The planning permission in principle, granted in April 2025, marks a pivotal moment for large-scale hydrogen integration in the UK energy mix. According to Statera Energy, the project is expected to generate approximately 3,000 jobs during construction and sustain 300 long-term operational roles. The total investment is projected at £400 million, potentially transforming Aberdeenshire into a centre of hydrogen infrastructure development.
One of the project’s more innovative features is its integration with the UK’s existing gas transmission infrastructure. Rather than relying on bespoke hydrogen pipelines or localized end-use applications, the hydrogen produced at Kintore could be blended or distributed via the national gas network to industrial clusters such as Grangemouth—home to some of the country’s most emissions-intensive operations.
This system-level thinking reflects broader trends across Europe, where grid integration and hydrogen pipeline corridors are being developed to balance renewable generation and decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. The Kintore project aligns with these ambitions, positioning hydrogen not just as a storage medium or transport fuel, but as a scalable energy vector for base-load industrial demand.
According to National Grid ESO data, wind curtailment in the UK has been rising due to infrastructure bottlenecks, with over 3.5 TWh of renewable electricity wasted in 2023. A project like Kintore could help absorb that excess capacity, creating economic value and reducing system inefficiencies.
With planning secured, the next hurdle for Statera will be securing a final investment decision (FID), likely contingent on commercial offtake agreements, policy clarity on hydrogen blending thresholds, and support through the UK Government’s Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM).
As the UK races to meet its 10 GW low-carbon hydrogen target by 2030—of which at least half must be green—Kintore’s 3 GW trajectory underscores the critical role of large-scale electrolysis in enabling supply-side scale.
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