Laying above the thickest onshore section of the Dorset Triassic salt deposit, the salt cavern facility aims to provide around 6.5-10TWh of working storage per year, understood to be around 10-20% of the UK’s 2050 estimated hydrogen storage demand.

The storage site will also be strategically located near SGN’s planned H2 Connect hydrogen pipeline, linking the facility directly to the planned Solent Cluster and the wider southern UK hydrogen supercluster.

The UK Oil & Gas subsidiary will now proceed to finalise the lease agreement, complete the salt cavern design and commence other works ahead of submitting a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project planning application.

UKEn is also planning to apply for government Revenue Support for at least one hydrogen storage site in Dorset.

Stephen Sanderson, UKEn Chief Executive, explained that the site location near the SGN hydrogen pipeline is deliberate, ensuring “storage can be directly linked to the planned Solent Cluster and wider southern UK hydrogen networks.”

Earlier this month, RWE issued a letter of support backing UKOG’s underground hydrogen storage projects. The document gave UKEn permission to reference RWE as a supporting party in discussions with the government on the proposed submission for revenue support.

Read more: RWE backs UKOG hydrogen storage projects in the UK

H2 View understands that these sites will complement RWE’s planned hydrogen plants in the Solent Cluster, Didcot and Teesside. The German energy firm could use the Dorset site to store hydrogen produced at its UK plants.