Plans approved for UK's first large-scale hydrogen production and carbon-capture plant

The new facility will supply glass manufacturer Encirc's Cheshire plant.

Encirc Managing Director Sean Murphy has welcomed the news that Cheshire West and Chester Council has approved the plans for the first large-scale hydrogen production facility and carbon capture plant in the UK.

It will be located at the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port, supplying low-carbon hydrogen to Encirc’s Elton factory.

Murphy said the decision is another step closer to making the decarbonisation of their furnaces a reality.

EET Hydrogen, a joint venture between Essar Oil UK, owner of the refinery, and low-carbon energy firm Progressive Energy, is behind the proposal. They revealed in September 2023 that engineering and design work had started on the project.

It forms part of the wider HyNet hydrogen project which aims to create a low carbon future across the north west of the UK.

The facility will eventually supply up to 1,000MW of hydrogen to glass manufacturers Encirc and Pilkington, as well as soda ash producer Tata Chemicals, helping to reduce the North West’s carbon emissions by 2.5Mt every year – the equivalent of taking 1.1 million cars off the roads.