Jonathan Briggs, project director for Humber Zero, said; “Humber Zero delivers a world scale decarbonisation project built around one of the UK’s most efficient generating assets and an industrial hub in Immingham.
“It can establish the foundation for a gateway to decarbonise the wider Humber, bringing new industries, sectors and jobs to the region. I look forward to progressing the project into front-end engineering design together with UKRI and the UK government.”
The Humber is an industrial hub with an economy worth £18 billion and in which one in ten jobs is associated with heavy industry. The scale of industry in the region makes the Humber a critical partner in the UK government’s ambition to achieve a net zero carbon economy by 2050.
Darren Cunningham, UK lead executive at Humber Refinery operator Phillips 66 said: “We make products society will need and continue to need for 2050 and beyond and recognise we have a role to play in making those products in a less carbon intensive way. The Humber Refinery is vital to the UK’s strategic interests and we are excited to be part of this project and the decarbonisation solution.”
Mike Lockett, UK country chairman for Uniper – the new brand for E.on’s former fossil fuels business, said; “Hydrogen will play a significant role in meeting the Net Zero ambition and Humber Zero is an ideally located project for developing large scale hydrogen production in the UK. It’s great that Uniper is part of this project and will be able to contribute its expertise to the decarbonisation of the Humber industrial cluster.”
A project that is described as in line with the UK government’s 2050 Net Zero objectives it will position the Humber, which is home to one third of the UK’s refining capacity, at the forefront of the UK’s zero-carbon economy.