United Kingdom – As a first for the country, Lhyfe and Centrica have agreed to collaborate on the development of offshore renewable green hydrogen.
The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that might speed up the development of green hydrogen as part of the UK’s energy transition. Lhyfe and Centrica will investigate combining their expertise to collaborate on a pilot green hydrogen production plant in the Southern North Sea, according to the agreement.
The pilot will try to combine Lhyfe’s expertise in green hydrogen generation with Centrica’s experience in gas storage and infrastructure to ensure that the hydrogen produced is safe to store and use in the UK. The end result would be confirmation that a complete hydrogen production, storage, and distribution infrastructure in the country is feasible.
Combining with offshore wind
The energy companies will also look into another collaboration to commercialize the technology alongside offshore wind electricity production.
Renewable green hydrogen combined with offshore wind power is predicted to play an increasingly important role in the UK’s energy mix, especially given the rapid expansion of both of these sectors over the next 5-10 years.
Hydrogen goal
The UK government has increased its low-carbon hydrogen production target from 5GW to 10GW by 2030, with green hydrogen accounting for at least half of this. Hydrogen generation is planned to first aid in the decarbonization of industrial clusters such as the Humber cluster, with additional use cases emerging as the hydrogen economy grows.
The Climate Change Committee recently acknowledged the critical role of hydrogen generation, storage, and consumption in attaining the UK’s aim of achieving net zero electricity by 2035.
