An offshore hydrogen project may be able to power 20 million homes and businesses with low-carbon energy, according to an analysis by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA)
Bacton Energy Hub, located in Norfolk, could contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring energy security in the UK.
This facility is an electrolytic hydrogen and carbon capture and storage project that will continue to grow over the next 10 years.
If a final investment decision is reached by the third quarter of 2025, the hydrogen and offshore gas facilities are predicted to cost £500 million and can be completed by 2030.
Energy Transition Authority, Petrofac, Progressive Energy Limited, Sumitomo Corporation, Turner and Townsend, and Xodus are among the businesses supporting the idea.
Future hydrogen produced at Bacton may be included in the UK’s gas pipeline network, according to NSTA.
A hundred per cent of methane is currently used in the National Transmission System (NTS) to provide gas to buildings in London and the South East of England.
The exact amount of methane can be replaced with 20% hydrogen blended into the NTS by the decade’s end. This will rise to 17 million tonnes by the end of the century.
  Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
The first supply would be made up of CCS-enabled (blue), natural gas-produced hydrogen until the beginning of 2040.
