GB’s East Coast Hydrogen project advances

East Coast Hydrogen is aimed to connect 10GW of hydrogen production to the gas network in northeast England.

East Coast Hydrogen (ECH2), a joint initiative between the gas network operators Cadent, Northern Gas Networks and National Grid Gas Transmission, is taking its first development steps with the award of the contract for the pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) and technical survey to energy project specialist Worley.

The project is intended to connect the hydrogen production from the Humber and Teesside industrial hubs to the gas network, with the East Coast Hydrogen Pipeline forming the basis for what could grow into a national hydrogen network north into Scotland and south and west into the rest of the country.

Worley’s role is to deliver a study to understand how to transition natural gas supply into hydrogen and to provide information on the pipeline’s potential route and sizing. This will be followed with the pre-FEED study for the project.

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“This is a major milestone not only in the first stage of design but also puts down another marker in Cadent’s ambitions and efforts to transition the gas grid from natural gas to low carbon hydrogen,” says Adam Knight, East Coast Hydrogen Pipeline Project Director.

“With the UK industrial clusters involved known for their considerable industrial emissions, we have a true opportunity to create change and help make a significant difference.”

The Humber and Teesside industrial hubs expect to be producing up to 10GW of low carbon blue and green hydrogen by 2030 – the blue hydrogen with carbon capture and storage offshore in the North Sea.

The first phase of the pipeline development envisaged to start in 2024 would connect the Humber and Teesside clusters, about 120km apart, and start expanding the connections into Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Later phases from around 2028 would see further expansions both north and south.

In addition to the development of the East Coast Hydrogen Pipeline, the Humber and Teesside areas are proposed as possible sites for the ‘hydrogen village’ trial currently being awarded and the future ‘hydrogen town’ trial.