Sheffield hydrogen firm ITM Power shelves £70m factory plans due to economic uncertainty
A Sheffield hydrogen company has shelved plans for a £70m factory set to create 500 jobs in the city.
ITM Power said it was due to ‘geopolitical instability, high inflation and economic uncertainty’.
It comes after the company deferred a planning application for a green power ‘gigafactory’ on the former Sheffield City Airport last month.
It is a big blow to the 430-strong firm at one point valued at £1.6bn. It was flying high after raising £250m and announcing plans for a second factory in Sheffield and a third overseas. Both have now been shelved.
Instead, it said it will increase capacity at its current factory in Tinsley.
In a statement it said: ‘We are amending our ambitions for the timing of our target to have 5 GW of production capacity.
‘We have also reviewed our plans to open a second UK factory at Aviation Park, given the current business climate and cost escalation’.
It added: ‘We believe in the near-term that extending the total capacity at Bessemer Park up to 1.5 GW is a better use of capital’.
The company also said Dr Graham Cooley had decided to step aside as chief executive and assume a ‘senior strategic role in the company’.
ITM Power makes electrolysers that split water to create hydrogen.
In January it was forecast to make its first profit in 2025 - 24 years after it launched.
The firm's full-year results at the end of April show revenue up from £4.3m to £5.6m. Gross loss had increased from £6.5m to £23.5m.
Cash balance at the year end was £365.9m compared to £176.1m last year.