One of the UK’s first commercial green hydrogen projects is seeking buyers for hydrogen supplies beginning in 2025.
Developer Renantis – formerly Falck Renewables – is behind plans to build a new 2.5-MW scheme in Knockshinnoch near New Cumnock in Ayrshire, and is already looking for customers.
The project will see wind turbines installed alongside a battery, that will be directly connected to an electrolyser to produce fuel-cell grade hydrogen.
The compressed hydrogen is expected to be stored on site before being transferred to mobile trailers to power transport, as well as other hydrogen applications.
Renantis, the global renewable energy developer and operator, is leading the development of the project in partnership with hydrogen systems manufacturer Logan Energy and HIVE Hydrogen, a hydrogen project and supply chain developer.
The project was one of a select few projects awarded a UK Government grant through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund earlier this year.
Potential buyers are being offered access to green hydrogen once the project begins production, expected in summer 2025. Firms were advised to register interest via public contracts depending on whether they are based in Scotland or England.
Customers interested in commercial discussions were advised they should have prospective demand volumes of up to six tonnes of hydrogen per week.
Renantis expects output from the site to be used by transport firms and local authorities to power hydrogen trucks and buses – also enabling them to claim Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates.
Industrial processes, such as those used in manufacturing, could also benefit, replacing fossil fuel energy or existing fossil-intensive feedstocks with green hydrogen.
Renantis’ hydrogen lead Stefano Socci said: “Green hydrogen has the potential to play a significant role in the UK’s future energy mix, which is why projects like this are so important.
“The sector is still in its infancy and there are many challenges to be overcome, but this project is at the vanguard of how green hydrogen could be produced and used locally without the need for a grid connection.
“By opening discussions with potential customers who share our vision of a completely renewable future, we move another step closer to producing green hydrogen at a scale which not only has commercial benefit for all parties but helps to decarbonise the energy sector over the long-term.”
The scheme is the latest in a series of hydrogen-based hub projects around Scotland, including developments by H2Green in Inverness, the BP-led hydrogen hub in Aberdeen and a 10MW facility in Stirling.