ScottishPower, part of Spanish utilities giant Iberdrola, together with Hong Kong operator Hutchison Ports, is looking to develop, build and operate a multi-hundred MW green hydrogen production plant at the Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s largest and busiest container port.
Both companies have set out their visions to help create a greener port, which handles more than 4m teu and welcomes around 2,000 ships each year. Approximately 6,000 heavy goods vehicles pass through the port and surrounding areas every day.
Plans are in motion to use green hydrogen for onshore purposes, such as road, rail and industrial use, with the potential to create liquid forms, such as green ammonia or e-methanol.
Dr Therese Coffey MP, local Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, welcomed the plans to explore opportunities for a large-scale hydrogen hub at Felixstowe, providing green fuel at the port. “It’s schemes like this – and investment from industry as well as government – which is crucial for us to reach net zero by 2050,” she said.
ScottishPower said the project could provide clean fuels for shipping and aviation, and create opportunities for cost-effective export to international markets. The aim is to continue engineering and site development work to align with customer demand from 2025 onwards.
“This strategically important project could potentially create a clean fuels hub that could unlock nationally significant decarbonisation for the region, as well as playing a role in international markets. It’s perfectly located not far from our existing and future offshore windfarms in the East Anglia region, and demonstrates how renewable electricity and green hydrogen can now start to help to decarbonise road, rail, shipping and industry,” stated Barry Carruthers, hydrogen director at ScottishPower.
The Felixstowe project follows ScottishPower’s plans to help transform heavy industry in Scotland with green hydrogen projects in the Port of Cromarty Firth and at Whitelee in Glasgow.
