Conrad Energy delighted to confirm Net Zero Hydrogen Funding for Lowestoft
Thursday 30 March, 2023The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero have announced that Conrad Energy are one of the successful applicants for the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
Conrad Energy will use this funding to build a new green hydrogen production plant with an initial capacity of 2MW using electrolysis in Lowestoft, East Suffolk. This plant is pioneering the production of green hydrogen from renewable electricity and will seek to demonstrate the huge opportunity available.
Hydrogen is an effective and environmentally friendly energy carrier, not an energy source. It can deliver or store a tremendous amount of energy. It is also a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water, electricity and heat. It is well-suited for an array of applications and unlocks a net-zero emissions future for hard-to-decarbonise heavy industries. Hydrogen will be a key contributor to sustainable development and the energy transition as the UK moves towards net zero. The UK Government is committed, as part of the UK Hydrogen Strategy, to have the capacity to produce 10GW (ten billion joules per second) of low-carbon power from hydrogen by 2030.
The integrated digital energy company of the future, Conrad Energy’s pioneering and data-driven approach to energy solutions is transforming the way the UK transitions to a low-carbon economy. We have a highly skilled team of over 150, operating more than 65 flexible generation, solar, hydrogen and battery sites, representing almost 1GW of power. The business also provides services to customers including supply agreements, PPAs, private wire and route to market, through its specialist platform iON.
Conrad Energy is the UK’s largest owner operator of flexible generation and were already developing a site at Lowestoft when it was identified by Hydrogen East as a key location for swift deployment of a commercial hydrogen project. This study concluded that the area had a large number of hydrogen opportunities, with potential uses such as marine vessels, vehicles, as well as heating and industrial processes.
By locating the electrolysis at our existing flexible generation site, the project can leverage the existing grid connection and infrastructure, resulting in very fast implementation and hydrogen production in 2024.
“Lowestoft is a wonderful example of joined up thinking. The opportunity to co-locate our hydrogen plant with our existing flexible generation site saves us so much time and simplifies planning and logistics. Add in the general environment at Lowestoft with other clean energy initiatives and businesses who are interested in being offtakers and it is a perfect incubator” commented Neil Filkin, Technical Director at Conrad Energy.
It is hoped that the majority of the electrolysers and other plant including compression and storage will be supplied by British manufacturers and the relatively small scale of the project will help fast delivery through the developing hydrogen supply chain. This will help cement the UK’s unique position as an innovator, supporting the development and delivery of hydrogen as well as the skills and knowledge.
“Hydrogen is a huge growth area with masses of potential and we are very excited to be on board from the beginning. Our project at Lowestoft is also special because we are working as part of a wider team in the Hydrogen industry, sharing our knowledge and insights to push this technology forward. Net Zero will not happen in a vacuum, so opportunities like this to bring great minds and different perspectives together to deliver a blueprint for rolling hydrogen out across the UK and beyond are vital” added Philip Silk, Development Director at Conrad Energy
The project is connected to the grid but will be powered by renewable electricity under a Power Purchase Agreement secured by Conrad Energy.
The plant will produce 150 tonnes of hydrogen per year, assuming 30% load factor due to intermittent renewable power input, which will annually eliminate the usage of 500,000 litres of diesel, reducing emissions by 1250 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Conrad Energy is developing a pipeline of over 100MW of hydrogen projects. The Lowestoft project is the first of these with significant interest from offtakers and it will provide verification of the commercial assumptions and technical integration; furthermore, it will give direct experience to several organisations and over 100 people involved in the project, across the full project lifecycle including regulatory, legal, supply chain and operational.
The knowledge gained from this project will be transformational and will be shared with the wider hydrogen community; it will catalyse other Conrad Energy projects and allow a programme of electrolytic hydrogen sites to be delivered across the UK.
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