Zero Carbon Humber files for UK funding to fuel decarbonization efforts

London — The 12 companies looking to decarbonize the UK's largest industrial polluter by 2040 have applied for UK government funding to get the hydrogen-fueled project off the ground, the Equinor-led project said Oct. 7.

The Zero Carbon Humber project in Northeast England would "create a low carbon cluster in the Humber, the UK's largest and most carbon-intensive industrial region," Equinor said. Equinor's Hydrogen to Humber (H2H) Saltend project would utilize the largest hydrogen plant of its kind in the world to convert natural gas to hydrogen, combining a 600-MW Autothermal Reforming unit with Carbon Capture and Storage technology, the company said.

In the first phase, that would reduce emissions by around 900,000 mt a year, Equinor said.

The project also involves building a hydrogen and CO2 pipeline network developed by National Grid Ventures that would link H2H Saltend to other industrial sites in the Humber region, including the Drax Power station, SSE Thermal's Keadby site, Uniper's Killingholme site, and the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe.

In April, the consortium submitted documents to qualify for funds and said it was applying for a mix of public and private funds totaling GBP75 million ($97 million) in the second phase.

The bid is part of the UK's efforts to create a net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, which would be the world's first. Funding is available through the UK's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

The ZCH Partnership includes Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Equinor, Mitsubishi Power, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company, Uniper, and the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

Project funding is expected to be announced in the early part of 2021, Equinor said.