Two leading energy companies have united to develop a new green hydrogen production facility in the North West of England.

SSE and EET Hydrogen have begun development work on the innovative project at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. Known as Gowy Green Hydrogen, it takes its name from the River Gowy and nearby Gowy Meadows Nature Reserve.

The initial expected 40MWe facility will deliver hydrogen to industrial offtakers in the region to support them to decarbonise their operations, helping to secure and grow jobs in the region.

The UK has a strong focus on delivering low-carbon hydrogen with a target to deliver 10GW by 2030. Low-carbon hydrogen is integral to delivering a clean power system and to enabling hard-to-abate industries to decarbonise.

Gowy Green Hydrogen could be operational as early as 2028, with feasibility studies completed and design and site investigation works underway. A planning application is expected to move forward in 2025 ahead of any final investment decision being made by the two parties.

Jess Ledger, Green Hydrogen Lead, EET Hydrogen, said: “Gowy Green is a fantastic addition to our existing portfolio of low carbon hydrogen projects, supporting our mission to be the leading low-carbon hydrogen business in the UK.  We are delighted to be partnered with SSE, as the North West continues to lead in decarbonising industry and power through low-carbon hydrogen.”

Hannah Bronwin, Director of Business Development for SSE Thermal, said: “Scaling up green hydrogen production will be essential when it comes to decarbonising hard-to-abate industries and solving the clean power puzzle. We’re excited to work with EET Hydrogen to develop Gowy Green Hydrogen, which can help secure much needed hydrogen production capacity in a region which is already playing a leading role in the energy transition.”

SSE, the UK’s clean energy champion, is developing hydrogen projects across the value chain in recognition of its central role in net zero. That includes both green and blue hydrogen production facilities, hydrogen storage and hydrogen power generation.

EET Hydrogen is pleased to announce it has a statement of principles with the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for its flagship HPP1 low-carbon hydrogen plant. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

The signing of the statement of principles marks an agreement milestone between EET Hydrogen and the UK Government on key aspects of negotiations to date. EET Hydrogen and the UK Government will now enter final negotiations, with the aim of making a final decision later this year.

HPP1 will have an initial production capacity of 350MW, will capture around 600,000 tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent to taking around 250,000 cars off the road.

This represents a major milestone for the UK hydrogen industry, for the HyNet Cluster and for EET Hydrogen’s progress towards its goal of developing 4GW of low carbon hydrogen by 2030.

The hydrogen will be provided to industrial businesses across the North West of England to decarbonise their operations, protecting jobs and driving economic growth. The project is the cornerstone of the HyNet cluster and is essential for the cluster to commence construction later this year.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “We have already halved our emissions from 1990 levels, and hydrogen will play a vital role in the UK’s journey towards net zero by providing businesses large and small with cleaner energy in the future.

“By moving into final negotiations with the Ellesmere project, we are working to deliver our ambition of up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity, in an industry expected to support up to 12,000 jobs by 2030.”

Tony Fountain, Managing Partner of EET said:  “Today’s statement of principles is a great outcome for both EET and the UK. Scaling hydrogen capacity is essential to decarbonising heavy industries. This is an important step in our ambitious decarbonisation plan to transform our business and the North West. We appreciate the Government’s partnership which will contribute to protecting skilled jobs in the region and ensuring our industries remain competitive.”

Joe Seifert, CEO of EET Hydrogen said: “This is a critical milestone for EET Hydrogen and the hydrogen sector in the UK. We are very proud to be leading the way and look forward to starting construction later this year.”

Cheshire West & Chester Council has approved groundbreaking plans by EET Hydrogen for the first large scale, low carbon hydrogen production plant (HPP1) in the UK located at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Consisting of two plants (HPP1 and HPP2), the hydrogen hub will enable local industrial and power generation businesses to switch from fossil fuels to low carbon energy. This will help to reduce the North West’s carbon emissions by 2.5 million tonnes every year – the equivalent of taking 1.1 million cars off the roads.

The hydrogen will be used locally by the Essar refinery and other major manufacturers in the region, including Tata Chemicals, Encirc and Pilkington to create the first low carbon refining operations, glass and chemicals manufacturing sites in the world. The EET Hydrogen hub will help to secure and grow vital industries, create jobs and unlock billions of pounds of related investment.

EET will develop the hydrogen hub in phases with the first plant (HPP1) at 350MW capacity, the second (HPP2) at 1,000MW capacity and an overall target capacity of 4,000MW+ by 2030.  These plants are critical to meet the UK’s hydrogen and industrial decarbonisation targets and enable the critical hydrogen infrastructure.

The development is a key pillar of HyNet – the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation cluster. Construction is anticipated to start on HPP1 in 2024 with low carbon hydrogen produced at the site by 2027.

Richard Holden, HPP1 Project Manager at EET Hydrogen, said:

“This is the largest low carbon hydrogen project in the UK and one of the most advanced in the world. It is a vital piece of the North West’s journey to net zero, underpinning HyNet and providing the opportunity for manufacturers in the region to decarbonise their processes and support UK jobs.

“We have worked closely with regional stakeholders and are delighted to obtain this important approval for the project as we move from ambition to action.”