Air Products partners with Associated British Ports on hydrogen production

Air Products and Associated British Ports (ABP) announced today (30^th August) their intention to partner in bringing the first large-scale, green hydrogen production facility to the UK.

The facility would import green ammonia from production locations operated by Air Products and its partners worldwide. This would be used to produce green hydrogen, which would decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and industry.

Air Products aims to help drive progress towards the Government’s targets, addressing the urgent task of decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and reducing the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels.

The location will provide the required maritime infrastructure and offers good proximity to markets and the required utilities. ABP will invest in new infrastructure with a new jetty to service liquid bulk products’ import and export handling.

In addition to handling green ammonia, the jetty is being designed so that it can accommodate other cargoes connected to the energy transition, including the import of liquified carbon dioxide (CO2) from carbon capture and storage projects for sequestration in the North Sea – thereby playing a significant role in the UK’s energy transition.

Immingham sits within the UK’s largest industrial cluster and near proposed offshore transport and storage networks for CO2. The scheme follows on from an existing Air Products’ plan to develop the UK’s largest blue hydrogen facility in Immingham, making the Humber a major location for low-carbon energy production, businesses and jobs.

The project will bring many benefits to Immingham and the UK, including eliminating up to 580,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, the equivalent of taking 20,000 diesel HGVs off UK roads, and reducing nitrous oxide and particulate emissions. In addition, the project will bring up to $4.6 billion in growth and financial benefits to the region and provide 1,400 direct jobs and approximately 1,600 indirect jobs for supply chains and local businesses.

Ivo Bols, Air Products’ President, Europe and Africa, said, “We are in positive talks with government ministers and officials about our plans to invest in UK green hydrogen. To enable our investment decision, we are seeking some policy assurances that a viable market will exist for our product.”

Henrik L. Pedersen, ABP’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “ABP’s ports are a vital part of the UK’s energy transition, and we are making significant investments to support a range of renewable energy generation projects, including the expansion of Green Port Hull and the transformation of Port Talbot to help deliver the UK’s ambition for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.”