Protium partners with Petrofac targeting 1 GW UK green hydrogen production by 2030

Renewable hydrogen company Protium has partnered with Petrofac on engineering, procurement and construction for its green hydrogen projects in the UK, as it seeks to deliver 1 GW of production capacity by 2030.

Protium aims for the first projects to begin operations by 2023 at different locations within the UK, the company told S&P Global Platts Sept. 23.

The projects include development of renewable energy assets, green hydrogen production facilities and downstream hydrogen equipment.

"With an expanding capex pipeline totaling more than GBP1 billion [$1.4 billion], Protium's work assists businesses to transform their decarbonization strategies to achieve net zero, specifically through the decarbonization of mobility, thermal and electrical demand," the company said in a statement.

The companies are pursuing several commercial renewable hydrogen projects in the UK, and jointly bidding for government-funded programs for technical and commercial demonstration projects.

The UK is targeting 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, mostly sourced from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage.

S&P Global Platts assessed the cost of producing renewable hydrogen via alkaline electrolysis in Europe at Eur8.60/kg ($10.09/kg) Sept. 22 (Netherlands, including capex). PEM electrolysis production was assessed at Eur10.38/kg, while blue hydrogen production by steam methane reforming (including carbon, CCS and capex) was Eur4.72/kg.