Conrad Energy delighted to confirm Net Zero Hydrogen Funding for Lowestoft
The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero has announced that Conrad Energy is one of the successful applicants for the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
We will use this funding to build a new green hydrogen production plant with an initial capacity of 2MW, using electrolysis in Lowestoft, East Suffolk. This plant is pioneering the production of green hydrogen from renewable electricity and will seek to demonstrate the huge opportunity available.
Hydrogen is an effective and environmentally friendly energy carrier, not an energy source. Hydrogen will be a key contributor to sustainable development and the energy transition as the UK moves towards net zero. The UK Government is committed as part of the UK Hydrogen Strategy to have the capacity to produce 10GW (ten billion joules per second) of low-carbon power from hydrogen by 2030.
Conrad Energy is the UK’s largest owner-operator of flexible generation and we were already developing a site at Lowestoft when it was identified by Hydrogen East as a key location for the swift deployment of a commercial hydrogen project. This study concluded that the area had a large number of hydrogen opportunities, with potential uses such as marine vessels, vehicles, as well as heating and industrial processes.
By locating the electrolysis at our existing flexible generation site, the project can leverage the existing grid connection and infrastructure, resulting in very fast implementation and hydrogen production in 2024.
“Lowestoft is a wonderful example of joined-up thinking. The opportunity to co-locate our hydrogen plant with our existing flexible generation site saves us so much time and simplifies planning and logistics. Add in the general environment at Lowestoft with other clean energy initiatives and businesses who are interested in being off-takers and it is a perfect incubator” commented Neil Filkin.
“Hydrogen is a huge growth area with masses of potential and we are very excited to be on board from the beginning. Our project at Lowestoft is also special because we are working as part of a wider team in the Hydrogen industry, sharing our knowledge and insights to push this technology forward. Net Zero will not happen in a vacuum, so opportunities like this to bring great minds and different perspectives together to deliver a blueprint for rolling hydrogen out across the UK and beyond are vital” added Philip Silk.
The project is connected to the grid but will be powered by renewable electricity under a Power Purchase Agreement secured with us.
The plant will produce 150 tonnes of hydrogen per year, assuming 30% load factor due to intermittent renewable power input, which will annually eliminate the usage of 500,000 litres of diesel, reducing emissions by 1250 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Conrad Energy is developing a pipeline of over 100MW of hydrogen projects. The Lowestoft project is the first of these with significant interest from off-takers and it will provide verification of the commercial assumptions and technical integration.
