BP looks to massive green hydrogen plant for heavy duty truck fueling

The facility will be located at the HyGreen Teesside project in the United Kingdom. Energy giant BP has said that it is planning to build a substantial 60-megawatt green hydrogen plant by 2025 as the firs step in its HyGreen Teesside project. That initial facility may only be a first step in a project that could grow significantly in size. Once the first stage of the green hydrogen plant is complete, the project may grow to reach a much larger facility. The intention for the facility is to “match production to demand”, bringing it to 500-megawatts of electrolysis by the close of the decade. T…

The facility will be located at the HyGreen Teesside project in the United Kingdom.

Energy giant BP has said that it is planning to build a substantial 60-megawatt green hydrogen plant by 2025 as the firs step in its HyGreen Teesside project.

That initial facility may only be a first step in a project that could grow significantly in size.

Once the first stage of the green hydrogen plant is complete, the project may grow to reach a much larger facility. The intention for the facility is to “match production to demand”, bringing it to 500-megawatts of electrolysis by the close of the decade. This will add to the planned capacity of 1-gigawatt of blue hydrogen – grey H2 made with natural gas and using carbon capture and storage. That blue H2 production is already part of the announced H2Teesside initiative. The reason the green H2 is being added to the project is that it is considered to be superior to blue in terms of its greenhouse gas emissions. Blue H2 may use carbon capture and storage, but some emissions, particularly in the form of methane, still manage to be emitted in the process. Green H2 is produced using electrolysis powered by renewable energy. As a result, it is emission free in its production as well as in its use.

BP’s early focus on renewable H2 produced at a green hydrogen plant will supply heavy duty fuel cell trucks.

BP vice president for H2 Matt Williamson said that the reason the company is starting early in focusing on renewable H2 even when there is substantial progress in blue H2 is that this will provide a clean supply of fuel for heavy trucks using fuel cells. In October, BP and Daimler Truck signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a UK network of refueling stations for commercial trucking industry. The companies released a joint statement specifically pointing to a green hydrogen plant using renewable energy to power electrolysis. “HyGreen is the supply end of that,” said Williamson in a recent media interview. He went on to point out that the initial 60-megawatt facility will have enough capacity to meet the fueling needs of 1300 large trucks, replacing vehicles on UK roads that would otherwise be powered by diesel.

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This article is focused on commercial hydrogen trucking infrastructure and development  - Learn more about How efficient is a hydrogen fuel cell.  Also, why big named companies like Rolls Royce, Shell, BP and more investing into green hydrogen projects for the near future - Read more about - Who is the largest producer of green hydrogen? Also, make sure to visit our H2 Learning Center.