Britain’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) has cleared the Indian Essar group's Vertex Hydrogen project.
Essar Energy Transition (EET) plans to invest $3.6 billion to develop a range of low-carbon energy transition projects over the next five years in the UK and India. Of this investment, $2.4 billion will be for the Stanlow site in Ellesmere Port, between Liverpool and Manchester.
The announcement follows the UK government’s commitment to provide up to £20 billion ($25 bn) in funding for early deployment of carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) to help meet its climate commitments. The funding supports private investment and job creation in locations that include England's northwest, Essar’s UK base in that country. Essar’s investment commitment in the UK will support the government’s net zero ambitions, said a company statement.
Vertex will produce some 350MW of hydrogen from 2026, making it one of the UK’s leading low-carbon hydrogen businesses. Some 600 thousand tonnes of CO2 will be captured and stored using HyNet’s carbon-capture infrastructure, the equivalent to taking around 250,000 cars off the road.
Vertex provides vital but "hard to abate" industrial and power generation businesses with a route to decarbonise, delivering job certainty and growth. The direct investment in the production plant will be nearly £500 million and is a critical first step in building a hydrogen economy in Northwest England, said Essar’s statement.
