North East energy firm secures permission for "world first" hydrogen project

A North East energy company has announced that it has received planning permission for a “world first” hydrogen energy project.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN), has been granted planning permission to use an area of land in the region for a world-first, to test hydrogen as a potential alternative to a household gas supply.

The site on which the test will be conducted is between Ann Street and Harcourt Road in Redcar’s South Bank, and was formerly home to 70 houses.

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, commented: “We’ve got a long list of projects in the pipeline that are putting our region at the forefront of the hydrogen revolution and this ground-breaking Northern Gas Networks scheme only serves to highlight how we’re grabbing opportunities in the clean energy sector with both hands.

“This has come on top of our other hydrogen initiatives and our low-carbon and renewable schemes taking place just a few metres away at Teesworks, including GE Renewable Energy’s massive wind turbine manufacturing facility and Net Zero Teesside’s carbon capture, utilisation and storage project.

“This test has the potential to be a real game-changer for the energy industry, and it’s happening right here on Teesside. Thanks to these schemes, we’re putting ourselves on the map as a clean energy powerhouse, creating good-quality, well-paid jobs in the process.”

Mary Lanigan, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: “Redcar and Cleveland is at the heart of the drive towards a low carbon economy and the council has set an ambitious target for the area to be a carbon neutral borough by 2030.

“Northern Gas Networks’ proposal has the potential to attract national and international interest in the hydrogen industry and the challenge to decarbonise heat. This very much aligns with the council’s own carbon objectives.

“The site in South Bank is an ideal location to safely test the use of hydrogen in an existing gas network and I will be interested to find out more as the hydrogen energy project progresses.”