Carlton Power establishes partnership to develop hydrogen project in Cumbria

The proposed 35 MW commercial hydrogen hub, located on industrial-zoned land in Barrow-in-Furness, UK – is being brought forward following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Carlton Power and local stakeholders, comprising the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Barrow Borough Council, Cadent, and Electricity North West.

The project, subject to planning and financing, will see sustainable hydrogen fuel being produced at scale, creating opportunities for businesses in Cumbria, UK, to make net zero plans with hydrogen in mind. The hydrogen hub facility will support the growth of renewable electricity generation by utilising it to produce and store hydrogen at times when renewable output is high but demand is low.

The private/public sector collaboration is a response to the UK government’s plans for a green revolution which includes hydrogen and fuel cell technology as one of its key ambitions.

Carlton would like to see the Barrow Green Hydrogen hub in operation by 2025, and intends to seek financial support for the scheme from the UK government’s Hydrogen Investment Package (HIP), a multi-million-pound programme to encourage the growth of the hydrogen economy in the UK. Securing financial support from the HIP will be necessary to build and operate the Barrow Green Hydrogen project.

Eric Adams, Hydrogen Projects Director at Carlton Power, said: “We’re delighted to be working with key regional partners to bring forward this green hydrogen facility, which will help Cumbria’s decarbonisation efforts. It supports the Clean Energy Strategy for Cumbria.”

“It is critical that projects such as this are brought forward to support investment by local companies in their infrastructure that will enable a reduction in the carbon emissions associated with their operations.”

The consortium has expertise in energy infrastructure development, industrial policy, skills, and innovation to develop the low carbon hydrogen production and storage facility. Initially, the green hydrogen produced is expected to be used for industrial processes, with scope in the future for vehicle refuelling and residential heating.

Barrow Borough Council and the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership will be working with Carlton Power to identify and maximise the economic and environmental benefits that the scheme can bring to Barrow and the region, whilst Electricity North West will provide valuable insight into the existing power networks in the area.

Cadent, the gas distribution company, brings expertise to the Carlton Power consortium, as it is already advancing plans to stop carrying methane – the fossil gas that is currently carried through its pipe network – and switch instead to low-carbon hydrogen. Cadent, which manages thousands of miles of underground pipes in this part of Cumbria, expects North West England to be the first to do that at high volume by the mid-2020s.

Carlton Power is in talks with a number of businesses in Barrow-in-Furness and elsewhere in Cumbria that could use hydrogen in their operations. The company is also seeking to develop a green hydrogen hub in Greater Manchester (Trafford Green Hydrogen), and has other hydrogen projects at various stages of development across the UK.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Summer 2022 issue

The Summer 2022 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles focusing on wind, solar, biofuels, green hydrogen, geothermal, and more. This issue also features a regional report discussing the outlook for renewables in the US.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/11082022/carlton-power-establishes-partnership-to-develop-hydrogen-project-in-cumbria/