Equinor and SSE Thermal progress with Humber hydrogen ambition

Equinor and SSE Thermal have awarded two key contracts for work on the proposed hydrogen storage facility at Aldbrough to Atkins and Environmental Resources Management (ERM).

The Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage project collaborates with Equinor and SSE Thermal, which plans to store low carbon hydrogen either within the existing natural gas storage facility or at a new hydrogen storage site adjacent to the Aldbrough Gas Storage facility in East Yorkshire, UK.

The project is expected to be in operation by early 2028, with an initial expected capacity of at least 320 GWh, enough to power over 860 hydrogen buses a year. Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be a critical asset to helping the UK meet its low carbon hydrogen ambitions.

Atkins has been awarded the contract to conduct a feasibility study to assess the design of the hydrogen storage caverns at Aldbrough and the corresponding pipeline to transport hydrogen to and from the proposed new Humber Low Carbon Pipelines (HLPC) being developed as part of the Zero Carbon Humber partnership.

The assessment outcome will provide the foundation for the next phase of scoping work as the project matures. The contract also includes the option for subsequent pre-FEED (front end engineering design) work.

ERM’s contract covers the scheme’s environmental, health, safety, and permitting aspects, vital to developing Equinor’s future ‘Hydrogen to Humber’ (H2H) ambitions and enabling flexibility in the regional hydrogen production usage and storage value chain.

Equinor’s flagship H2H Saltend project will produce low carbon hydrogen to help decarbonise and fuel switch the Saltend Chemicals Park. Currently, one of the region’s most carbon-intensive sites is the kick-starter project for a broader hydrogen economy in Humber. The H2H Saltend scheme will be submitted to the second phase of the Government’s ‘Cluster Sequencing Process’ later this month.