Under the landmark agreement the firms will jointly develop hydrogen production projects on existing Centrica sites and work with third parties to build production on their sites too.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed and will combine expertise in order to kickstart the development of the UK hydrogen economy, targeting the mobility, industrial and commercial markets.
In addition, the partnership will explore how the UK can work with international hydrogen production facilities to move low-cost renewable power converted to hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives to areas of high demand.
A valuable component of decarbonisation
William Mezzullo, Centrica’s Head of Hydrogen, said: “Low carbon hydrogen will play a major role in decarbonising our energy systems. It enables the increased use of renewable and low carbon electricity by offering the potential for storage in quantities that provide long term resilience and another choice for decarbonising hard to electrify sectors.
“We should be bold in our thinking, the UK should aim to be a net exporter of hydrogen, providing high quality green jobs, additional revenues for the UK treasury and a lower cost of transitioning to Net Zero for homeowners and businesses.”
Game-changing projects
Jo Bamford, green entrepreneur and Executive Chairman of Ryze, said: “It is clear from our conversations with Centrica that it is committed to making hydrogen a valuable component of its net-zero strategy.
“Ryze is at the forefront of green hydrogen production and supply, and we are incredibly excited to share our vision for growth with an energy giant such as Centrica.
“The projects we have already discussed will be game-changing for the green hydrogen economy and will underline why hydrogen is such an important resource for the UK and the rest of the world in the fight against climate change.”
Among the initial projects under consideration, Centrica and Ryze will examine solutions for converting some of the British Gas fleet to hydrogen, including refuelling infrastructure, locations and van technology.
In addition, as one of the UK’s leading providers of combined heat and power systems, Centrica Business Solutions will work with Ryze to offer hydrogen as an alternative fuel for customers wishing to decarbonise on-site generation.
Centrica recently announced plans to inject hydrogen into a gas peaking plant at Brigg, Lincolnshire in a trial aimed at better understanding the role of hydrogen in power production. Centrica also has a long-term aim to turn the Rough gas field into the largest long duration energy storage facility in Europe, capable of storing both natural gas and hydrogen.