OSLO, April 8 (Reuters) - Norwegian energy firm Equinor
and British utility SSE have agreed to jointly
develop the world's first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power plant in
Britain, the companies said on Thursday.
Hydrogen is seen as a potential replacement for natural gas
in power and heat generation, helping to achieve global climate
goals.
Keadby Hydrogen plant would have a peak demand of 1,800
megawatt (MW) of hydrogen, generating around 900 MW of
electricity and reduce emissions from Britain's most
carbon-intensive industrial cluster in Humber, north-east
England, the companies said.
"With appropriate policy mechanisms in place, Keadby
Hydrogen could come online before the end of the decade," they
added.
In addition, Equinor and SSE plan to build a 900 MW natural
gas-fired power plant at Keadby, fitted with carbon capture
technology to reduce emissions.
The carbon dioxide (CO2) released when natural gas is burned
will be captured and permanently stored under the seabed in the
Southern North Sea.
The Keadby 3 plant could potentially start by 2027, with
Equinor and SSE planning to submit a development consent
application this spring, the companies said.
Equinor is also involved in a project to produce hydrogen
from natural gas at Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull, while also
capturing and permanently storing associated CO2.
The project, called H2H Saltend, could supply low-carbon
hydrogen to the Keadby Hydrogen power plant, Equinor said.
Most of the hydrogen in the world is produced by reforming
natural gas today, but the process also emits CO2 and is not
sustainable. Carbon capture could reduce the associated
emissions by around 90%.
Britain has a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by
2050, providing financial support to a number of decarbonisation
projects.
(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Nerijus Adomaitis and Jason
Neely)