Lhyfe and Centrica agreed to jointly develop a renewable green hydrogen project

Lhyfe and Centrica have agreed to jointly develop offshore renewable green hydrogen in the UK in a first for the country. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that could accelerate green hydrogen as part of the energy transition in the UK.

Under the agreement, Lhyfe and Centrica will explore combining their expertise to collaborate on a pilot green hydrogen production site in the Southern North Sea.

The pilot will aim to combine Lhyfe’s expertise on green hydrogen production and Centrica’s experience of gas storage and infrastructure to ensure that the hydrogen produced can be safely stored and utilised in the UK. The end result would be proof that an end-to-end hydrogen production, storage, and distribution system is possible in the country.

The energy firms will also examine an additional partnership to deploy the technology at commercial scale alongside offshore wind electricity production.

Renewable green hydrogen coupled with offshore wind power is expected to play an increasingly important role in the UK’s energy mix, particularly with rapid expansion expected in both of these areas over the next 5-10 years.

The UK Government has doubled its low-carbon hydrogen production target from 5GW to 10GW by 2030, with at least half of this coming from green hydrogen. Hydrogen production is expected to initially support decarbonisation of industrial clusters, like the Humber cluster with further use cases developing with a growing hydrogen economy.

A recent report by the Climate Change Committee confirmed the essential role of hydrogen production, storage and use in achieving the goal of a net zero electricity system in the UK by 2035.