A powerful consortium spearheaded by Jo Bamford, heir to the JCB construction equipment empire, has unveiled ambitious plans to establish 1 gigawatt (GW) of green hydrogen production capacity across the United Kingdom by the year 2030 reports H2 View.
The initiative, dubbed Project Hyspeed, brings together industry giants Centrica, Heidelberg Materials, ITM Power, JCB, Johnson Matthey, and National Gas. The consortium has formally submitted proposals for these large-scale developments to the UK government.
According to documents presented to the government, Project Hyspeed claims it can achieve a competitive green hydrogen production cost, known as the strike price, of £5.96 per kilogram ($7.84 per kilogram). This lower cost is attributed to “aggregated procurement of equipment and services, optimized power purchase agreements, and access to low-cost financing.”
This proposed strike price is significantly lower than the £9.50 per kilogram ($12.50 per kilogram) strike price subsidy offered by the government’s first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1).
Based on visual representations provided by the consortium, the project is likely to involve the construction of approximately 16 green hydrogen production plants strategically located across the UK. These plants will vary in scale, ranging from under 50 megawatts (MW) to over 300 MW in capacity.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether specific sites for these plants have already been identified or pre-selected.
The consortium’s plans outline the supply of the produced green hydrogen to various sectors, including mobility (fueling hydrogen vehicles), green chemicals production, construction equipment (potentially powering JCB machinery), industrial gas users through integration with the existing gas grid, and general manufacturing processes.
The participating companies anticipate that these extensive projects will attract a substantial £6.5 billion ($8.55 billion) in private investment and are projected to create at least 12,150 skilled jobs across the UK. Furthermore, the shift to green hydrogen is expected to result in a significant reduction of one million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.
Jo Bamford, Chairman of HydraB Power – the entity that put forward the comprehensive proposal – emphasized the strategic importance of hydrogen, stating that it offers the UK a crucial opportunity to achieve “energy secure and energy independent” status.
“Now more than ever the UK needs to stand on its own two feet, especially when it comes to our energy resources,” Mr. Bamford asserted.
HydraB Power acts as an overarching entity for Mr. Bamford’s other hydrogen-focused companies, including Hygen (hydrogen production), Ryze Hydrogen (hydrogen supply), Hycap (hydrogen financing), and Wrightbus (hydrogen-powered buses).
This significant announcement comes on the heels of the UK Government shortlisting 765 MW worth of green hydrogen projects for its second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2).
Over the past year, the government has faced increasing pressure and calls to significantly accelerate its support for the burgeoning hydrogen sector, amid growing concerns that the UK could potentially lag behind other regions actively investing in this clean energy source.
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