bp announced that it has agreed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with a series of new potential customers for its proposed clean hydrogen production facility in Teesside in north-east England.

In March, bp announced plans for a clean hydrogen facility in Teesside (H2Teesside) that would aim to produce up to 1GW of ‘blue’ hydrogen – 20% of the UK’s hydrogen target – by 2030. At the same time, it announced it had signed initial MoUs to scope the supply of hydrogen to chemicals manufacturer Venator and gas distributor Northern Gas Networks.

bp has now signed MoUs with four further potential customers – with existing or planned new Teesside operations – for hydrogen produced by the project. These can support and accelerate the development of the Teesside hydrogen cluster and decarbonization of industrial users in the area. The new MoUs are with:

• CF Fertilisers, one of the largest global producers of ammonia and ammonia-based fertilizers products, to scope the supply of clean hydrogen as fuel to reduce hard to abate combustion emissions at its Billingham plant, whereas feedstock sourced CO2 would be sequestered via the Northern Endurance Partnership project.

• Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of chemical products, to scope the supply of clean hydrogen to its methyl methacrylate production plant in Teesside (formerly operated as Lucite International).

• Sembcorp Energy UK, owner and operator of utilities and services infrastructure at Wilton International, an industrial park in Teesside, to scope the supply of clean hydrogen to its combined heat and power plants and developing hydrogen infrastructure at Wilton International to enable hydrogen supply to third parties.

These companies are seeking to decarbonize existing operations in Teesside by switching fuel from natural gas to clean hydrogen, enabling their manufacturing facilities to produce low carbon products as society progresses towards a net zero future.

Finally, bp has executed an MoU with alfanar Company to scope the supply of clean hydrogen to alfanar’s waste-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, currently under development, in Teesside.

• aalfanar Company represents the new project investments coming to Teesside, aiming to develop low carbon materials using clean hydrogen as a feedstock for production.

Louise Jacobsen Plutt, bp’s senior vice president of hydrogen and CCUS, said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates the diverse range of companies and industries that can benefit from clean hydrogen. Teesside has all the attributes of a world-class clean hydrogen hub – the right natural resources, concentrated demand, potential for hydrogen storage and pipelines, ample access to CCUS and the right skills base. While the impact of investments may be felt most acutely in the northeast, the decarbonization benefit of H2Teesside is expected to be felt countrywide. Ultimately, these MoUs show how supply and demand can work together to accelerate the growth and delivery of a hydrogen economy.”

Clean hydrogen is key to the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries that have high heat requirements or require low carbon feedstocks. Access to clean hydrogen can reduce emissions, enable new, low carbon products, and offer the potential to unlock future fuels – for road transport, sustainable aviation, or low carbon marine fuels – and help secure a long-term low carbon future for the region.

In readiness for clean hydrogen production, and to engage the local supply chain, bp has launched an online portal for the UK supply sector to take part in the project development.

bp is encouraging UK-based suppliers to register their interest at the Teesside supplier portal, particularly those with connections across the north-east of England.

Additional information and contact details for the H2Teesside clean hydrogen project can be found here.