Plans to develop Europe’s largest green hydrogen production facility at a site in Aberdeenshire in Scotland have moved forward with the award of a FEED contract for the project’s first phase to engineering company Worley.

The development, called Kintore Hydrogen, is intended to have 500MW of electrolysers in the first phase, rising to 3GW by the 2030s, according to project developer Statera Energy, which is backed by investment company Infrared Capital Partners. The electrolysers would be powered by offshore wind.

The FEED study has a target completion date of the fourth quarter of 2024, with the aim of reaching FID in 2025.

3GW – Potential electrolyser capacity

“Kintore Hydrogen is a ground-breaking project and a key demonstration of Statera’s commitment to meeting the challenge of decarbonising the UK’s energy system and industrial sectors and, in the process, providing vital energy security,” said Don Harrold, the firm’s project director. “We see the northeast of Scotland playing a major part in the energy transition, and this project is a real opportunity to position the region at the forefront of the growth of the green hydrogen sector.”

The project would draw on Scotland’s burgeoning offshore wind power sector, which is targeting capacity of about 28GW, according to recent leasing rounds. The site is also close to the national gas pipeline network.

Kintore was a successful applicant in the UK government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund Strand 1 competition in March 2023, receiving funding for the FEED, planning and consenting work for the initial 500MW phase.

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Author: Stuart Penson