Octopus Energy and RES team up for £3bn UK green hydrogen plan

Octopus Energy and RES team up for £3bn UK green hydrogen plan

Renewable energy firms plan to build and operate suite of hydrogen production facilities in 2020s powered by wind and solar

Octopus Energy and renewables developer RES are teaming up to invest £3bn in green hydrogen plants across the UK by 2030, in a bid to capitalise on growing pressure on heavy industry to decarbonise.

In a major boost for domestic production of the zero carbon fuel, the two firms plan to build and operate a suite of hydrogen production facilities powered by wind and solar power in the 2020s, which they claim will offer a reliable and cost-competitive energy source that is protected from gas price volatility. 

The partnership invites industrial businesses to work with them to boost their decarbonisation efforts.

The planned investment follows the government’s Hydrogen Strategy in August, which estimated the UK would need between 250-460TWh of hydrogen capacity in 2050 to deliver net zero, with hydrogen seen as crucial to decarbonising a host of carbon-intensive processess from industrial manufacturing, heavy road transport, shipping and aviation, as well as providing a means of storing renewable electricity.

Octopus Renewables – the clean power generation arm of Octopus Energy Group – and RES said their £3bn investment plan announced today was designed to respond to the government’s call to ramp up production in the coming decade in order to meet growing demand for hydrogen, as they called on industrial companies to work with them to help boost their decarbonisation efforts.

“The supply of green hydrogen will be critical to the success of many industries in meeting the UK’s net zero targets and with this partnership we are providing a solution for those businesses to help deliver on the government’s ambitions,” said Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Renewables. “We invite industrial businesses that are currently using hydrogen to contact us and benefit from the early mover advantage.”

Octopus Renewables, which joined up with energy supply arm Octopus Energy earlier this year, currently manages more than 300 solar, onshore wind and biomass projects collectively worth over £3.4bn. RES, meanwhile, is the world’s largest independent renewable energy developer, having delivered over 22GW of capacity around the world since it was founded 40 years ago.

The two companies said they would use their joint expertise to make the most of excess renewable power supply during windy and sunny periods to produce green hydrogen and provide the UK with a robust source of energy storage.

Rachel Ruffle, EMEA CEO for RES said: “We know that renewable based electrification using wind and solar is the fastest way to decarbonise. When coupled with the production of green hydrogen, it becomes the natural choice for industry and our hard to abate sectors. Our partnership will enable industrial users to make the switch to reliable and cost-effective green hydrogen.”

Earlier this month, the hydrogen arm of Octopus Energy Group, Octopus Hydrogen partnered with renewable energy company Innova to develop green hydrogen production facilities at Innova’s renewable energy sites across the country. Octopus Hydrogen plans to install electrolysers with up to 20MW of capacity at several of Innova’s co-located solar and battery energy storage sites, where the hydrogen production facilities will be directly connected to the on-site renewable energy generation and produce between 500 and 2,500kg of green hydrogen per day.

Brierley from Octopus Renewables said he had long believed wind and solar generation would outcompete fossil fuels and disrupt global energy markets. “That day has come, and with those cost reductions there is now the opportunity to help major industrial companies make an obvious choice and use green hydrogen,” he said.

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