UK group Octopus Energy announced its partnership with renewables giant RES at the end of last week (15 October) to establish a network of green hydrogen plants across the UK, in a £3bn investment plan that is set to span the next decade.
Octopus Renewables – a part of Octopus Energy Group’s generation arm – alongside RES will develop and operate these new green hydrogen plants fuelled by clean, renewable energy.
The two companies have said the scheme is in direct response to the UK Government’s new national hydrogen strategy which was released in August this year, and in which the government called for the acceleration of both blue and green hydrogen in the country – aiming for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. Such models would use nuclear, natural gas, and carbon capture technologies to create a decarbonised industry.
According to a statement from Octopus and RES, the aim of the new collaboration is; “to make the most of green electrons when they are generated in abundance on sunny and windy days by storing them as green hydrogen, helping the UK become more energy independent.”
The scheme is also anticipated to secure the UK’s energy supply from fluctuations in prices of other energy sources, such as gas.
“The supply of green hydrogen will be critical to the success of many industries in meeting the UK’s net-zero targets,” Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus’s renewables division, added. “With this partnership, we are providing a solution for those businesses to help deliver on the government’s ambitions. We invite industrial businesses that are currently using hydrogen to contact us and benefit from the early-mover advantage.”
Octopus Renewables merged with the Octopus Energy Group in July this year, bringing its 300+ solar, wind and biomass projects to the table, worth over £3.4bn. In the new partnership, RES offers its expertise in energy generation, having to date delivered 22GW of generation capacity globally.
Source:
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/octopus-energy-agrees-3bn-hydrogen-deal/
