UK Oil & Gas PLC (AIM:UKOG) is spearheading a project to create large hydrogen storage caverns under Britain's former naval base in Portland Harbour, Dorset.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the plan includes excavating 19 caverns, each the size of St Paul’s Cathedral, to store hydrogen for emergency use during energy shortages from wind and solar sources.
UKOG aims to secure planning permission within months, utilising the government’s nationally significant infrastructure system to bypass local opposition.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho reportedly supports the initiative, amending government policy to facilitate taxpayer subsidies.
In the article, Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s CEO, highlighted Portland Port’s suitability due to its high-quality rock salt.
The project will involve drilling wells and injecting water to dissolve the salt, creating caverns managed by UK Energy Storage, a UKOG subsidiary.
Each cavern will measure 85 meters in diameter and 90 meters high, capable of holding 320,000 cubic meters of hydrogen. Despite UKOG’s controversies in onshore oil and gas, it is transitioning towards renewable energy, with hydrogen storage being a strategic focus.
The news emerged less than two weeks after UKOG suffered a huge setback after the Supreme Court effectively put a permanent block on Horse Hill, the company's onshore oil well in the Surrey commuter belt.
Indeed, the ruling has ramifications for the future development of new onshore operations.