SSE PLC (LSE:SSE) is set to score government support for two hydrogen projects, designed to store energy and create the fuel using the company’s own renewable energy respectively.
Projects based in Yorkshire and the Scottish Highlands will benefit from the government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, SSE said on Wednesday, following negotiations with ministers.
Each project will aim to produce hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy, with the Humber-based Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder plan set to see the system built into a salt cavern.
A hydrogen-powered turbine will then be used to supply power to the grid from the site, according to SSE, with the fuel having been created using surplus electricity.
The Gordonbush hydrogen project, designed to produce eight tonnes a day, will be developed at SSE’s wind farm in the area meanwhile.
“Hydrogen will be crucial in getting the UK to net zero, as well as significantly boosting our energy security by maximising our ability to harness homegrown renewables,” SSE director Catherine Raw said.
Though hydrogen is relatively simple to produce, how environmentally friendly the fuel is depends on the fuel used to create it.
SSE will aim to create ‘green’ through the projects, classed as such thanks to the renewables used for production, with these plans coming under the firm's commitment to invest £18 billion in clean energy by 2027.