Hydrogen TE (Manston) Ltd has submitted a full planning application for a £120m waste-to-hydrogen facility at Manston, Kent.
The proposed development would process around 44,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year, including household waste, commercial plastics, timber, and decommissioned wind turbine blades. The facility is expected to produce up to 8,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually for industrial use.
The scheme could create up to 400 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles. It has been submitted to Kent County Council, with planning and development consultancy Lichfields leading the planning and environmental impact assessment work.
Rebecca Caines, Senior Director at Lichfields, said: “Submitting this application for HTE marks a major milestone and represents an exciting step forward for this pioneering project. This is the UK’s first commercial-scale waste-to-hydrogen facility, bringing together waste management and energy production in a single scheme.
“Through the planning process, we have worked collaboratively to bring forward a proposal that demonstrates how non-recyclable waste can be managed more sustainably, while supporting the growth of the hydrogen sector and delivering investment, jobs and skills development.”
The project is designed to bring residual waste processing and hydrogen production onto one site. In addition to hydrogen, the process would generate captured carbon dioxide for commercial use and inert aggregate for construction.
Michael Engsted, Managing Director at Hydrogen TE (Manston) Ltd, said: “The Manston facility has been designed to operate at commercial scale, using non-recyclable waste as a consistent feedstock for hydrogen production.
“It is intended to create a new route for materials that would otherwise be disposed of, while generating low-carbon fuel for industrial use, alongside capturing carbon dioxide and producing construction-grade aggregate to maximise resource efficiency.”
The plans also include an on-site education and innovation centre focused on skills, training, and careers in hydrogen and renewable energy. The application is now before Kent County Council, with documents available through the Kent planning portal.
