Thames Estuary announces that Ikigai, supported by DNV GL, have been appointed to deliver a Hydrogen Investment Strategy for the Thames Estuary.
In November 2020, our Hydrogen Summit revealed significant interest in the development of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Thames Estuary. The anticipated demand driven by a move away from fossil fuels along with the Estuary’s location and capacity to deliver at scale presents an extremely compelling case for investors.
Ikigai and DNV GL will create our roadmap to realising this transformational opportunity. They will evaluate and identify the potential for investable hydrogen generation, distribution, storage and usage infrastructure within the Estuary, helping us to meet the commitments made in our ambitious action plan ‘The Green Blue’. This includes driving green growth and spearheading the development of a hydrogen ecosystem to enable the greening of our transport on land and water and accelerating decarbonisation.
Ikigai is a Net Zero Bankability Consultant focused on supporting cities, industrial clusters and energy intensive consumers to identify practical, integrated decarbonisation solutions which improve resilience and competitiveness and align with Government policy objectives to attract private and public sector capital. DNV GL is an independent international technical and engineering adviser, expert in risk management and quality assurance, with market-leading expertise in hydrogen networks.
Devrim Celal, Thames Estuary Growth Board Joint Lead for Hydrogen, said: “This joint bid showed an impressive and comprehensive understanding of our hydrogen ambitions, recognising opportunities for investment and providing clear steps to achieve them.”
Gavin Chapman, Thames Estuary Growth Board Joint Lead for Hydrogen, added: “This appointment is another significant step towards realising the enormous potential of the Thames Estuary. Ikigai and DNV GL bring invaluable insight and expertise to our hydrogen strategy and we are hugely looking forward to working with them to drive good, green growth.”
“We are so excited to be part of such a key project for the Thames Estuary, with lessons to be learned for clean growth across the whole of the UK”, said Helena Anderson, co-founder of Ikigai. “Hydrogen is a key element of the energy transition because of its versatility and application in the hardest to decarbonise sectors: foundational industries, shipping, aviation, railways and the gas network. We can’t wait to start stakeholder engagement – with Government, industry, prospective investors, delivery partners and local developers. We are confident that, working with Thames Estuary Growth Board and hydrogen techno-economic modelling specialist, DNV GL, we can translate the Green Blue action plan into billions of Net Zero investment into the south-east.”
The Hydrogen Investment Strategy will set out how investment in hydrogen infrastructure will have wide-reaching benefits across the Estuary. This will provide benefits such as carbon reduction, opportunities for skills and training, employment opportunities, improved health outcomes as well as delivering a strong return on investment.
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