Aberdeen Chooses BP As Preferred Bidder For Hydrogen Partnership
Aberdeen City Council has announced BP as its preferred bidder for a commercial partnership which will accelerate the city’s ambitions to become a world-class hydrogen hub.
The key part of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub concept will involve the creation of Scotland’s first scalable green hydrogen production facility. Phase 1, which involves the delivery of a green hydrogen facility, is targeting first operations from 2024.
Options could include using power drawn from a new photovoltaic solar farm, green power purchase agreements, and a private wire grid connection to generate hydrogen for buses, heavy goods vehicles, and large vans.
Future phases could then see production scaled up through further investment to supply larger volumes of hydrogen for rail, freight, and marine, as well as supply of hydrogen for heat and potentially export. This would be enabled by the expected increased availability of local renewable energy sources, including offshore wind developments that emerge from the ScotWind leasing round.
The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub programme will support Aberdeen City Council’s ambitions to create a climate-positive city and build inclusive growth through supporting hydrogen supply chain development, skills and training, and wider community benefits.
A study commissioned by Aberdeen City Council on the growth in demand for hydrogen power estimates that if the hydrogen hub enables the export of renewable hydrogen, then 700 skilled jobs could be created in the hydrogen industry by 2030.
“This is a huge announcement for Aberdeen. It paves the way for the city to be a world leader in the production of hydrogen-based green fuel and energy. It will help create a cleaner, more sustainable city for local people and it also provides us with the opportunity to create hundreds of skilled jobs and add millions to the Aberdeen economy,” Aberdeen City Council Leader Jenny Laing said.
“Aberdeen has a worldwide reputation as a pioneering hydrogen city with a net-zero emissions vision. We are already leading the way to a greener, cleaner future, and working with BP, we intend to put Aberdeen at the forefront of the green economic recovery,” Ms Laing added.
“BP wants to play a leading role in Scotland’s energy transition as is evidenced by this news and our transformational bid in the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round. These new business opportunities are underpinned by our 50-plus years of operations in the North Sea – based out of Aberdeen – we have built up vast skills and experience that are directly transferable to emerging energy industries.
“We look forward to working with Aberdeen City Council on this exciting project and are
pleased that – following the competitive and robust public procurement process – we were able to position bp as the partner of choice,” BP’s UK head of country and SVP for Europe, stated.
It is worth noting that two million passengers have travelled on Aberdeen’s hydrogen buses, and CO2 savings to date are more than 100 tonnes over the last six years.
“We’re proud that hydrogen is already here in Aberdeen and this significant commercial partnership with BP is set to support our ambitions. We plan to create a blueprint which can be replicated around the world by the cities and regions looking to reach net-zero,” Aberdeen City Council’s Convenor for City Growth & Resources Ryan Houghton said.
As the preferred bidder, BP will now work with Aberdeen City Council to conclude the contractual process which will lead to the set-up of the joint venture. Work will then commence on the required FEED work, to make a final investment decision on the selected development concept in 2023.
Partnering with cities and corporates as they shape their paths to net-zero is a core part of BP’s strategy introduced in August last year. Over the next decade, the energy major expects to partner with 10-15 cities globally to provide innovative, integrated, and decarbonised energy solutions at scale to help them achieve their goals of net-zero emissions.
“The hub builds on Aberdeen’s leading position as a global energy centre as well as its growing reputation as a centre of excellence for hydrogen technology,” William Lin, BP’s EVP for regions, cities, and solutions, claimed.
“For BP, this is further evidence of putting our strategy into action as we seek to provide integrated energy solutions to help cities and corporations decarbonise and get to net-zero.
“We are very proud of the partnership and cooperation that we have with the Council and look forward to deepening our relationship going forward,” he added.
Source: Rigzone