EnergyPathways PLC (AIM:EPP) CEO Ben Clube talked with Proactive about a new collaboration with Siemens Energy to advance the MESH integrated energy storage project. This marks a significant milestone for the company as Siemens Energy begins feasibility and engineering design work focused on long-duration energy storage and compressed air storage components.
Clube explained that the MESH system combines hydrogen, compressed air, and natural gas storage to deliver flexible and dispatchable power to the UK grid. Hydrogen and compressed air will be stored in offshore salt caverns, while natural gas will be stored in traditional clastic reservoirs. “The co-location of those storage assets enables a multitude of energy supply type solutions,” Clube said.
He added that renewable energy, particularly wind, is already struggling to get to market due to demand and grid constraints. The MESH project addresses this by absorbing excess renewable power and supplying backup capacity when renewables underperform. Citing government estimates, Clube noted that up to £6 billion of renewable value may go unrealised by 2030 without such solutions.
Looking ahead, investors can expect updates on technical progress with Siemens, the MoU with hydrogen firm Hazer and its partner KBR, and potentially imminent license news related to the project.
Proactive: Ben, good to speak with you again. You've just announced a major step forward with Siemens Energy. What exactly will their feasibility assessment cover and why is it critical?
Ben Clube: So our announcement with Siemens Energy is a critical milestone for the MESH integrated energy storage project. What Siemens Energy are going to be working with us on is the engineering design works for the long duration energy storage and compressed air storage component of the project and its integration to deliver dispatchable and flexible power capacity into the UK market at scale.
Proactive: What is partnering with a tier one player like Siemens say about EnergyPathways' positioning in the energy transition space going forward?
Ben Clube: Well, I believe what it reflects is obviously EnergyPathways is a small company, but bringing the likes of Siemens Energy, a tier one global major in energy transition, to our project is a demonstration of the potential that MESH has. It’s a deployment of a wide range of Siemens Energy’s skills and capabilities—across renewable power generation, hydrogen, compressed air, turbine and compression systems, energy storage, and importantly, also the progression to essentially a smart grid type system that the UK is moving towards, where Siemens Energy has leading expertise.
Proactive: Ben, can you remind us what the MESH project integrates, in terms of offshore hydrogen, compressed air, gas storage, and why its combination is so valuable to the UK grid?
Ben Clube: The MESH system combines three forms of energy storage. It combines natural gas storage, hydrogen storage, and compressed air storage. The latter two—hydrogen and compressed air—are planned to be stored within salt caverns offshore, which enables us to store energy at large scale in these features. That will be combined with gas storage, which will be performed in traditional clastic gas reservoirs.
That co-location of those storage assets enables a multitude of energy supply-type solutions. Specifically, what we're focusing on with Siemens is harnessing renewable energy, largely from wind generating capacity in the UK, which is already struggling to get into market when the wind is blowing.
As that capacity is further expanded through the government's expansion plans for wind power, the excess wind power is only going to increase and will continue to struggle to reach market due to demand and grid constraints. The value of that excess capacity is estimated by the government to be around £6 billion by 2030.
Also, a key component of the UK's transition is the need to back up wind when the wind is not blowing. So there is a need for flexible, dispatchable power supply. MESH is all about bringing those two threads together. If they are undertaken in separate systems, there's significant additional cost to the consumer. By combining the two, as we plan to do, it’s a solution that helps deliver affordable energy to the consumer.
Proactive: With Siemens Energy now on board, what should investors be looking out for in the short to medium term then, Ben?
Ben Clube: Progression of our works with Siemens Energy. The previous week we also announced an MoU deal with Hazer Limited, a leading hydrogen production technology company, who in partnership with KBR—another global major—will be moving studies and design works to finalise the design of the components of the MESH integrated project. These two powerhouses will help drive the project forward.
So we’ll be giving further announcements around the progress of those works and associated activities. Other stakeholders are coming into the project, and we're also hopefully going to be making imminent announcements with respect to relevant licenses for the MESH project.
Proactive: Ben, I hope you'll continue to keep us updated with progress. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.