ScottishPower to build £150m green hydrogen plant at Port of Felixstowe
ScottishPower is planning to build a £150m green hydrogen plant at the Port of Felixstowe to power trains, trucks and ships, the Guardian can reveal.
The energy company has drawn up proposals for a plant at the Suffolk port to produce the fuel using renewable electricity from 2026, in quantities equivalent to 100megawatts a year – enough to power 100,000 homes.
The company, owned by €63bn Spanish utilities giant Iberdrola, said demand for the green fuel had stepped up since petrol and diesel prices began to soar last year, emboldening the firm to invest.
It has submitted an application to the government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which provides state backing to develop low-carbon hydrogen projects for the next three years. ScottishPower estimated the whole project could cost between £100m and £150m.
ScottishPower plans to build the facility, which will be around the size of a football pitch, on brownfield land within the port, which is one of the busiest in the UK and a trade hub.
Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity to drive an electrolyser that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas is burned to produce power, emitting only water vapour and warm air, and no greenhouse gases.
Hydrogen impact
Hydrogen is considered a crucial tool in the UK government’s plan to cut the country’s emissions to net zero' by 2050. The clean-burning gas could be used to replace fossil gas in factories and refineries, or as a fuel for heavy transport such as shipping, without emitting greenhouse gases.
Although hydrogen itself is a clean fuel, the process of producing hydrogen can be extremely polluting. Most of the world’s hydrogen is produced from fossil gas, and releases millions of tons of carbon emissions every year.
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