Sheffield hydrogen firm set to help Humberside industry go green

ITM Power will focus on supplying hydrogen to industry in Immingham, Humberside.

The aim of ‘Green Hydrogen for Humberside’ is to use electricity from offshore windfarms to produce hydrogen in a process that creates no emissions.

It is hoped the skills gained from creating the first ‘renewable hydrogen cluster’ will be rolled out across the country to help the UK achieve a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050.

And it should create jobs and growth in the manufacturing supply chain.

ITM Power makes electrolysers which use electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can be used to refuel cars, pumped into the national gas grid or used in industrial processes.

The company attracted more than £90m in funding last year and is building what will be the biggest electrolyser factory in the world in Darnall.

It is targeting Immingham after it won, with partner Element Energy, the government’s ‘Decarbonisation of Industrial Clusters’ competition.

Chief executive Graham Cooley, said: “This is the first of what we believe will be many projects to set out a roadmap to achieving the UK’s ambitious Net Zero by 2050 target. Humberside has both renewable energy and heavy industry, making it an ideal test bed for industrial scale green hydrogen production and distribution.

“We are talking to all large industrial users about what their requirements are. This is a short project, but could lead to applications for a much more significant amount of money. There is £130 million in finance available. We are at feasibility stage, developing partnerships with industrial users, so we can get to the next stage.”

ITM Power is already working with wind farm company Orsted to produce ‘green’ hydrogen for the Phillips 66 oil refinery nearby.

The Humber region produces more emissions as a cluster than anywhere else in the UK with 12.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year. It also contributes £18 billion to the national economy each year.

ITM Power employs more than 200 and has offices in Australia, Germany, France, the USA and Canada.

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