HyBRADFORD: One of largest hydrogen power plants in the country could open in Yorkshire

NGN, the gas distributor for the North East, Cumbria and much of Yorkshire, is carrying out the project in a joint venture with the two companies and the support of Bradford Council.

Gareth Mills, regulation and strategic planning director at NGN, said: “We are delighted to be working on this project with Hygen and Ryze.

"Hydrogen has a key role in ensuring that customers continue to receive choice in the type of energy they use and provides a practical and cost-effective way for people to decarbonise their energy needs.

“It is exciting for us to see one of our conventional gas storage sites that has been serving the people of Bradford since the early 20th century, now being converted into a hydrogen facility for the 21st century.

“We’re really excited to work with Hygen and Ryze, with the support of Bradford Council to deliver such an exciting initiative.”

The project will be built on NGN’s decommissioned gas storage site of Bowling Back Lane in Bradford. It will deliver one of the UK’s largest low carbon hydrogen production facilities with the objective of using renewable energy to power an electrolyser which will produce clean hydrogen.

The site will also have on-site refuelling for hydrogen vehicles, EV charging, and a low carbon technology education centre. Residents and businesses in West Yorkshire will be able to use the refuelling facilities, with Ryze supplying hydrogen to transport and industrial users across the region.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Bradford launched its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) on 26 September 2022 with an objective to reduce air pollution within the city. We believe that the CAZ will demonstrate the council’s commitment to improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions, and will lay the foundations upon which low carbon projects in the city and the wider region could be built.

“It is therefore exciting for us to see one of the region’s largest companies developing this hydrogen hub, and we hope that it will encourage energy users across the region to convert to low cost low carbon hydrogen as their energy source of the future.

"We have already introduced the Joint Venture to a number of potential hydrogen off-takers in the city and we hope to see them using locally produced hydrogen to decarbonise their operations for a generation.”

Andrew Newman, managing director of Hygen, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Northern Gas Networks and Ryze on this first of a kind project. We believe that this project will not just produce low carbon hydrogen for Bradford and the surrounding area, but also sets an example how these complex projects can be delivered.

The Joint Venture also announced that grant funding may be available for energy users in the Bradford area wishing to convert to low carbon hydrogen produced by the project to decarbonise their operations.