"Essar's Stanlow Facility Set to Become World's First Green Refinery"

Essar Energy Transition (EET) plans to transform the UK’s Stanlow refinery into the world’s first decarbonized green refinery, utilizing blue hydrogen for heating and power needs, according to Essar Capital Director Prashant Ruia. Speaking at the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit in India, Ruia outlined the ambitious project, which is part of EET’s broader HyNet initiative.

The HyNet project recently secured $650 million in funding and will produce 350 megawatts (MW) of blue hydrogen in its first phase, with plans to expand to 1 gigawatt (GW) in the second phase. This hydrogen will help the refinery decarbonize 95% of its carbon dioxide emissions from processing crude oil into fuels like petrol and diesel.

EET is committing $1.2 billion over the next five years to decarbonize its operations, aiming to reduce emissions by 95% by 2030 through energy efficiency measures, carbon capture, and fuel switching. These efforts are expected to cut the North West’s overall regional carbon emissions by 12.5%.

The use of blue hydrogen at Stanlow could reduce up to 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually—equivalent to taking 1.1 million cars off the road.

Ruia emphasized the significance of the project: "Using hydrogen for the refinery’s heating and power needs will be a global first."

This announcement follows the UK government’s pledge of £21.7 billion over 25 years to support the construction of two carbon capture clusters in northern England, including blue hydrogen projects at the HyNet hub in Merseyside and the East Coast Cluster in Teesside. These projects aim to store more than 8.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually under the Irish Sea and North Sea.

EET's HyNet project is central to these efforts, positioning Stanlow as a pioneer in the global energy transition.

HBL