Equinor awards contracts for its H2H Saltend hydrogen plant project

Enery company Equinor said contracts have been awarded to develop 600 MW H2H Saltend low carbon hydrogen production plant, which will be one of the world’s first at-scale facilities to produce hydrogen from natural gas in combination with carbon capture and storage.

The pre-FEED (Front End Engineering and Design) study will also be used to support the delivery of a further 1200 MW of low-carbon hydrogen production, the company said. This hydrogen will be principally used to fuel the Keadby Hydrogen power station, which would be among the world’s first large-scale facility to use 100% hydrogen to generate power.

These projects bring combined hydrogen production capacity of 1.8 GW, accounting for a third of the UK government’s 5 GW low carbon hydrogen production goal.

Equinor awards contracts for its H2H Saltend hydrogen plant project.

Equinor’s H2H Saltend hydrogen plant and Keadby Hydrogen power station, which is being developed in partnership with SSE Thermal, are Equinor’s first two UK hydrogen projects that support the wider ambition to decarbonize the Humber and develop the UK’s first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040. Equinor is an energy company with more than 21 000 employees developing oil, gas, wind and solar energy in more than 30 countries.

The Humber region is the largest CO2-emitting industrial cluster in the UK. The H2H project is fundamental in helping the region decarbonize its industries and energy system.

“Equinor is dedicated to delivering hydrogen to Humber and to contributing to the development of the UK’s hydrogen economy through the H2H Saltend project and then expanding that experience with the Keadby Hydrogen project. Producing hydrogen from natural gas with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) provides a practical, scalable solution to decarbonize a wide range of sectors that currently depend on fossil fuel,” said Dan Sadler, Equinor vice president for UK Low Carbon Solutions.

The contractors will participate in a competition to provide design proposals, as well as a lump sum FEED and option for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) execution and operations. The three selected contractors are KBR & Tecnimont consortium, Technip Energies consortium as well as Linde through its businesses at Linde Engineering and BOC UK. They all have extensive experience and relevant licenses with hydrogen, ammonia, and CO2 capture technologies, Equinor said. The market showed huge interest for the projects and the consortia were chosen through a 6-month prequalification process. At the end of 2022 the plan is to select one of the consortia to move into the final stage of engineering (FEED) in preparation for a Final Investment decision in later 2023.

“The selected contractors are renowned for their engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operating capabilities in the hydrogen/ammonia and carbon capture sector. Our execution strategy enables adoption of proven technology and cost-competitive solutions for first-of-a-kind projects and early engagement of UK construction and service companies,” said Tanguy Cosmao, Equinor’s project director for the H2H projects.

The H2H Saltend project will enable fuel switching in 2026-2027 resulting in a CO2 emissions reduction of 1.1 million tonnes per year. Thereafter Equinor plan to supply hydrogen to Keadby Hydrogen power station, expected to start-up in 2028-29 with a resulting CO2 emissions reduction of close to 2 million tonnes per year.