Grenian JV formed for green hydrogen projects in UK
SeeNews Renewables
May 31 (Renewables Now) - Investment manager Foresight Group, project developer Progressive Energy and Norwegian power producer Statkraft AS, have created Grenian Hydrogen, a joint venture (JV) company focused on developing green hydrogen projects in the UK. The launch of the new company follows the signing of a collaboration agreement by the parties in October 2022. The trio said it has an initial 200-MWe development portfolio of seven projects, including 100 MWe in the engineering and consenting phase. Among these are the flagship 30-MWe Cheshire Green Hydrogen (CGH) project at Peel’s Protos site near Ince, which has been shortlisted by the government for a 15-year Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement (LCHA). Grenian has also recently submitted bids under the government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund for engineering work funding for two ‘mini-cluster’ projects in Wrexham and Speke. The partners say they offer a bankable solution to large manufacturers aiming to transition from natural gas to hydrogen and decarbonise their operations. The joint venture will design, build, own and operate the hydrogen plants. It has signed an initial commercial agreement with Accelera by Cummins, a brand of Cummins Inc (NYSE:CMI), to use its PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser equipment for the projects. The electricity for the hydrogen production will come from Statkraft’s renewables portfolio and in some cases from local behind-the-meter renewable power. “The UK’s Hydrogen Strategy and the recent Powering Up Britain announcements, through their combination of policy initiatives, have now accelerated the critical role that green hydrogen will play in the next phase of the UK’s energy transition,” said Chris Holmes, Partner at Foresight. The UK aims to have 10 GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030, of which at least half is to be green hydrogen. Progressive Energy leads the development of the HyNet industrial cluster.