German utility Uniper and Shell are advancing plans to produce blue hydrogen at Uniper's Killingholme power station site in eastern England. 

The Humber Hub Blue project includes plans for a 720MW steam methane reforming unit fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and is part of the Zero Carbon Humber industrial cluster.

In October, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that the East Coast Cluster, of which Zero Carbon Humber forms a part, was one of two successful national bids in the first track of its £1bn ($1.35bn) carbon capture and storage competition.

Following that successful bid—which was largely about selecting which regional infrastructure would be used—individual decarbonisation projects within the cluster that have been approved are now set to progress in order to connect to that infrastructure.

1.6mn t/yr – CO₂ to be captured by Humber Hub Blue

As a result the two firms will now jointly advance studies on process design and site development in order to bring the project to Feed stage by 2023.

Projects connecting to the cluster are expected to make final investment decisions from 2024 and become operational from 2027.

"The Humber Hub Blue project is a key part of Uniper's hydrogen ambitions in the UK and we are delighted that Shell is supporting us with this initiative," says Axel Wietfeld, CEO of Uniper Hydrogen.

Enduring connection

The captured CO₂ would be piped through the proposed Zero Carbon Humber onshore pipeline to be stored under the north sea by the Northern Endurance Partnership. Shell and Uniper say the production of blue hydrogen at Killingholme could capture around 1.6mn t/yr CO₂—a significant contribution to the UK government's target of capturing 10mn t/yr CO₂ by 2030.

“Today's announcement is a testament to that genuine confidence in hydrogen—we are creating quality jobs in the Humberside region based on this clean, state-of-the-art new superfuel,” says UK business minister Greg Hands.

The hydrogen produced is likely to initially be used to decarbonise local industrial units but may also be used for transport applications. The original Killingholme gas-fired power station closed in 2016.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed by both companies in 2021 to accelerate the development of a hydrogen economy in Europe.

Uniper is also developing a separate project to generate green hydrogen using electrolytic hydrogen technology as part of the overall development of the Humber Hub at Uniper's Killingholme site. 

---

Author: Tom Young