The proposed infrastructure is expected to deliver hydrogen to heavy industries operating in Deeside and Wrexham, which together use more than half of the area’s energy.

Part of the East West Industrial Decarbonisation (NEWID) cluster, the pipeline will build on previous work, which was funded by the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) earlier this year.

H2 View understands the network project will also support the wider HyNet cluster in north west England – a flagship UK CCUS initiative targeting annual CO₂ reductions of over one million tonnes through carbon capture and hydrogen deployment.

“With over 3,000 industrial customers in the region, this project will be pivotal in making the area an attractive place for businesses in the future,” explained Wales & West Utilities’ Head of Net Zero and Sustainability, Matt Hindle.

While there are no confirmed large-scale hydrogen production facilities operational in Deeside and Wrexham, several local options are being explored under the NEWID cluster plan.

Furthermore, Manchester-based Circular Refining last year announced plans for a ‘ruby’ hydrogen facility at Deeside Industrial Park, aiming to develop a 100MWe nuclear park and a 100MWe electrolyser to enable large-scale production.

In the near term, hydrogen is likely to be supplied from HyNet’s production sites, potentially EET Hydrogen’s two blue hydrogen plants in Ellesmere Port, which have a combined capacity of 1.3GW.

Yesterday, the Essar-owned company confirmed its Hydrogen Production Plants (HPP) 1 and 2 have been selected to enter contract negotiations with DESNZ as part of the HyNet cluster.