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Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has today (7 October) joined the launch of the latest project to develop a low carbon hydrogen facility in the region.

H2NorthEast, developed by energy infrastructure firm Kellas Midstream, will explore the production of up to 1GW of low carbon “blue” hydrogen using gas already imported through the company’s CATS Terminal at Seal Sands.

More than 95% of the CO2 produced will be captured and transported offshore for storage via infrastructure developed by the Northern Endurance Partnership, which is planned to also serve the Net Zero Teesside Power carbon capture, utilisation and storage plant at Teesworks. This partnership will create the largest industrial decarbonisation project in the UK.

The facility aims to save more than two million tonnes of the UK’s CO2 emissions and create around 400 direct and indirect long-term operational jobs together with around 1,200 jobs during construction.

This is the second such “blue” hydrogen project being developed in the region, following an announcement in March that bp that it will establish a facility in the region, also targeting 1GW of hydrogen production by 2030. It also follows other hydrogen schemes in the region, including the pilot of hydrogen-powered vehicles at key organisations, including Teesside International Airport, as part Tees Valley’s designation as the UK’s first Hydrogen Transport Hub.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said:

“This is yet another major hydrogen project coming to our region, bringing more than 1,000 jobs during construction and, in the long term, hundreds of high-quality, well-paid roles that local people are crying out for and deserve.

“More than that, it will also decarbonise a significant proportion of UK North Sea gas production and tie into other fantastic schemes that are helping us drive forward our net zero ambitions.

“This also further underlines how Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are increasingly on the map and the go-to place for innovative projects, including a raft of developments in the hydrogen sector. Thanks to schemes at Teesworks and across our region, and our status as the UK’s first Hydrogen Transport Hub, we’re leading the UK on clean energy solutions like never before.”

The firm now has submitted an application for H2NorthEast as part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s cluster application under the East Coast Cluster bid and, if successful, the facility aims to be operational by 2027.

Andy Hessell, Kellas Midstream’s Managing Director said:

“Kellas’ blue hydrogen facility H2NorthEast is a significant infrastructure project that will not only help decarbonise industry in Teesside but will also create hundreds of construction roles over a three-year development period as well as long term plant operation roles for at least 25 years.”

Jacob Young, MP for Redcar and chair of the APPG on Hydrogen, said:

“As we move towards our net-zero future, Hydrogen is playing an increasingly important role in terms of the UK’s energy economy.

“In Teesside, we already produce a huge proportion of the UK’s hydrogen and it’s great to see Kellas’ plans build on that, making use of the existing CATS Terminal infrastructure, which would create yet another leading facility here in our region.

“When we talk about a Green Industrial Revolution, this is what we mean – hundreds of high-quality, well-paid jobs working towards decarbonising our industry and energy supply.

“The Government’s recently announced comprehensive Hydrogen Strategy cements the UK as a global leader in the Hydrogen economy, and it’s that ambition that’s being realised here in Teesside.”