SSE and EET Hydrogen are set to jointly develop a 40 MW green hydrogen production facility at the Stanlow refinery in the north west of England.
Known as Gowy Green Hydrogen, the facility will deliver hydrogen to industrial offtakers in the region to support decarbonisation efforts.
The UK government is aiming to deliver 10 GW of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030, with 125 MW of projects awarded in the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1).
Meanwhile, HAR2 is now underway with the goal of awarding up to 875 MW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by the end of 2025.
EET Hydrogen said low-carbon hydrogen is “integral” to delivering a clean power system and enabling hard-to-abate industries to decarbonise.
The two firms said the Gowy Green Hydrogen project could be operational as early as 2028, with feasibility studies complete and site investigation works underway.
The companies expect to submit a planning application in 2025 ahead of any final investment decision.
EET Hydrogen green hydrogen lead Jess Ledger said the north west of England “continues to lead in decarbonising industry and power through low-carbon hydrogen”.
“Gowy Green is a fantastic addition to our existing portfolio of low carbon hydrogen projects, supporting our mission to be the leading low-carbon hydrogen business in the UK,” Ledger said.
SSE Thermal director of business development Hannah Bronwin said scaling up green hydrogen production will be “essential” to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries.
Stanlow hydrogen
The Gowy Green project is the latest in a series of hydrogen developments EET, formerly known as Essar Oil UK, is progressing at Stanlow.
In June, EET Fuels confirmed it will become the first supplier of hydrogen-generated electricity to the UK grid from the Stanlow facility at Ellesmere Port.
EET Fuels is also planning to construct Europe’s first hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant at Stanlow by 2027.
It comes after EET Hydrogen plans for a 1.35 GW blue hydrogen production hub at Stanlow were approved by a local council in January.
The hydrogen projects form part of the wider HyNet decarbonisation cluster, which plans to capture CO2 from industrial processes for offshore storage in the Irish Sea.
Meanwhile, SSE Renewables recently cancelled plans to produce green hydrogen from the fourth phase of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm.