Uniper plans to produce green hydrogen at the site of its coal-fired power plant in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, England, after its closure in September 2024. The project is intended to help transform the site into a carbon-free technology and energy center.
According to Uniper, the site of the coal-fired power plant is ideal for the production of hydrogen on an industrial scale. In addition to an established infrastructure (grid connections, demineralized water and a cooling water system), it offers a large land area, he said. The site is also surrounded by potential future hydrogen customers and has a connection to the East Midlands Freeport.
After the coal-fired power plant ceases operations at the end of September 2024, green hydrogen will be produced there using an electrolysis plant. However, the energy company says a number of conditions still need to be met for this to happen. In addition to a financing decision, the project would also depend on securing the necessary planning and environmental permits, hydrogen off-take agreements and an agreement with the government.
1 GW hydrogen until 2030
The site's production capacity is expected to reach 100 MW in the second half of the 2020s, with Uniper aiming to expand it to 500 MW by the end of the decade. The hydrogen produced at Ratcliffe could be used to decarbonize heavy industry, transport and potentially the energy supply of the entire East Midlands.
Uniper aims to become CO2-neutral by 2040. As early as 2030, the group wants to generate more than 80% of its electricity capacity without emissions. To achieve this, it is currently planning to expand its hydrogen production capacity at several locations: from 2030, Uniper wants to have an electrolysis capacity of more than 1 GW in its core markets. The Ratcliffe site could thus be responsible for around half of the Group's total hydrogen production.
Model H2Maasvlakte
The concept for Ratcliffe is based on findings from the Uniper H₂ project at the Maasvlakte site in the Netherlands. Like Ratcliffe, Maasvlakte is also a so-called "brownfield project". These are projects that use the transformation of an existing industrial site.
The Maasvlakte project aims to use Uniper's site at the port of Rotterdam to produce green hydrogen. In March, Uniper had announced that the U.S. manufacturer Plug Power would supply the project's electrolyzer.
