UK to support 11 green hydrogen ventures with a $2.5 billion investment

In light of the government's commitment to invest two billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in green hydrogen projects over the next fifteen years, Britain's Energy Security Secretary, Claire Coutinho, revealed on Thursday that her government is supporting eleven such projects.

With 125 megawatts (MW) of capacity, the 11 successful projects were chosen to be granted contracts under the government's first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1), which was introduced in July 2022.

Green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water using renewable energy, is thought to be one of the main businesses that will assist Britain in meeting its goal of having net zero emissions by 2050 and offer cleaner fuel for energy-intensive industries and transportation.

"Hydrogen presents a massive economic opportunity for the UK, unlocking over 12,000 jobs and up to 11 billion pounds of investment by 2030," Coutinho stated.

"Today's announcement represents the largest number of commercial-scale green hydrogen production projects announced at once anywhere in Europe," she stated.

The government will provide funding in exchange for the successful projects investing over 400 million pounds over the next three years, creating over 700 jobs in local communities around the UK and providing industries with 125 MW of additional hydrogen.

A weighted average strike price of 241 pounds per megawatt-hour (MWh) has been agreed upon for the 11 projects.

The Cromarty hydrogen system by Storegga and Scottish Power is one of the projects that will have a price guarantee for its production.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)