HyNet group vies for £500m government hydrogen pipeline funding

A 20-strong industry group has urged the UK government to back the HyNet cluster’s planned regional hydrogen network in the Northwest of England with £500m ($674m) in a bid to unlock investment and safeguard local jobs.

The planned 100-125km underground hydrogen pipeline network will transport carbon capture-enabled low-carbon hydrogen produced at EET Hydrogen’s Stanlow, Cheshire, facility to industrial consumers, enabling large-scale demand.

Made up of companies including glass maker Pilkington, British Salt, and Jaguar Land Rover, the group hopes to secure the £500m from the government’s Hydrogen Transport and Storage Business Model.

In a letter to the Department for Energy Security for Net Zero, the group said the funding would accelerate private investment and strengthen supply chains in a region already exploring the widespread adoption of hydrogen.

It would form a key part of the HyNet cluster, which looks to equip industries across Northwest England with carbon capture, produce blue and green hydrogen, and help processes switch from natural gas.

Andrea Debanne, Chief Sustainability Officer at Jaguar Land Rover – a signatory to the letter – said that access to hydrogen will be essential to operational resilience and achieving net zero across the company’s processes.

The government announced the funding package  to build the “UK’s first regional hydrogen transport and storage network.”

It will be awarded through a competitive bidding process. Other projects, including Cadent’s planned , and Humber Hydrogen’s Northeast .

As projects compete for a slice of the funding, the UK’s broader clean hydrogen outlook remains far behind targets.

The government has come under repeated criticism for delays in publishing its long-awaited hydrogen strategy update.