HySpeed: Consortium plans £6.5bn investment in UK 1 GW hydrogen project

A UK industrial consortium has unveiled plans to invest £6.5 billion in a “landmark” clean hydrogen mega-project that aims to create close to 24,000 jobs.

Project HySpeed involves an alliance of UK-based firms ranging from supply chain firms to FTSE100-listed companies, including Centrica, National Gas and ITM Power.

The project backers estimate their plans will stimulate an additional £4.9bn in further private investment and add up to £2bn per year to the UK economy.

Altogether, the HySpeed consortium said its plans could also reduce CO2 emissions by up to one million tonnes per year.

Led by HydraB Power Group, HySpeed said it aims to scale up electrolytic hydrogen production, reduce costs and strengthen the UK’s renewable energy ambitions.

HydraB owns green hydrogen developers HyGen Energy and Ryze Power, private equity investor HyCap Group and zero-emission vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus.

The bus manufacturer supplied Aberdeen’s 15 double-deckers that cost £8.3m, which are currently off the road due to a lack of refueling facilities in the Granite City.

The HySpeed project will aim to build a “robust hydrogen ecosystem” involving “strategically located production hubs”.

Alongside 1 GW in electrolyser capacity, the HySpeed plans involve 2.8 GW in upstream renewable energy, 2,100 hydrogen fuel cells, 9,200 buses and 175 refuelling stations.

It will also target reducing the cost of green hydrogen as part of efforts to support British industries and “embed manufacturing jobs for generations”.

© Supplied by Ryze Power

Alongside local hydrogen ecosystems, HySpeed will also aim to produce hydrogen for blending into the UK gas grid to enable widespread industrial decarbonisation.

The HySpeed announcement comes shortly after the UK government unveiled its shortlist of 27 projects included in the second hydrogen allocation round (HAR2).

HyGen and Ryze were among the successful HAR2 developers, with the shortlisted projects representing around 765 MW of potential hydrogen production capacity.

Project HySpeed

Announcing the HySpeed plans, HydraB Power executive chairman Jo Bamford said Project HySpeed answers the UK government’s “clarion call” for hydrogen investment.

“Now more than ever, the UK needs to stand on its own two feet, especially when it comes to our energy resources,” Bamford said.

© Supplied by HydraB Power

“Hydrogen offers us the opportunity to be energy secure and energy independent.”

Bamford said conversations with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) around HySpeed have so far been “hugely encouraging”.

It comes after UK science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle told The Times that the UK needs to focus on becoming a world leader in hydrogen technology.

“We cannot compete on cost in the production of batteries. That ship has sailed,” Kyle said.

“But on hydrogen, what we are doing in Britain is market leading.”

Scaling up UK green hydrogen

ITM Power chief executive Dennis Schulz said the consortium approach of HySpeed is the “most effective pathway” to rapidly scale the UK’s green hydrogen economy.

“Comprising all elements of the hydrogen value chain from production to storage, transport and distribution, the initiative aims to locate green hydrogen generation in strategic locations across the UK,” Schulz said.

“With volume come economies of scale, which will drive down costs and accelerate the market substantially.”

Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea said hydrogen can play a “crucial role” in tackling emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.

“There is no silver bullet to decarbonise the energy system,” he said.

© Supplied by Centrica

“It will take every technology we have at our disposal to achieve net zero.

“The scale and ambition of this project has the potential to dramatically lower costs, making hydrogen roll-out affordable for government and the private sector alike.”

Alongside its involvement in HySpeed, Centrica is also investigating converting its Rough offshore gas storage field for hydrogen storage.

HySpeed hydrogen hubs

While HydraB did not specify which locations it plans to invest in hydrogen production, several former industrial heartlands are emerging as hydrogen hubs.

Alongside carbon capture and storage (CCS) plans, hydrogen projects are taking shape across former industrial areas in the north west of England, south Wales and central Scotland.

Many of the projects included in the government’s HAR1 and HAR2 rounds are also centred on the East Coast Cluster at Teesside and the Humber, including EDF’s Tees Green Hydrogen project.