EnergyPathways PLC (AIM:EPP) has appointed Jacobs as its tier-one engineering and regulatory partner for the MESH long-duration energy storage project in the Irish Sea and near Barrow-in-Furness.
The AIM-listed energy transition company said Jacobs will provide planning, regulatory, consenting and environmental services, including support for its submission to Ofgem's forthcoming Long Duration Energy Storage Cap and Floor round.
MESH has been designated a project of national significance by the UK government and is targeting 300 megawatts of capacity with 55 gigawatt-hours of storage, offering more than 100 hours of duration.
Jacobs will lead stakeholder engagement with local councils and regional government, alongside a grid connection application and workstreams tied to the Cap and Floor submission and a parallel Development Consent Order process.
Its scope also covers socio-economic assessments and regional employment and supply chain analysis to feed into project planning.
Successful eligibility for the Cap and Floor scheme would provide MESH with a revenue floor backed by a sovereign guarantee, a mechanism designed to support both debt and equity investment in the project's development.
EnergyPathways said the next milestone after its Ofgem submission will be formal confirmation of MESH's eligibility for the scheme, with further updates due once the next funding round opens.
Chief executive Ben Clube said Jacobs' experience on nationally significant UK infrastructure projects, along with its track record in the Northwest of England, would prove valuable as the project advances.
He added that the regulatory process Jacobs will oversee feeds directly into the Cap and Floor submission, which will in turn underpin the project's final investment decision.
Jacobs executive vice president Richard Sanderson said the company's experience with the Development Consent Order process would help EnergyPathways manage planning requirements while keeping the project on schedule.
