Ranging across hydrogen production technologies, decarbonisation, biofuels for road and aviation, and infrastructure project, the EET investments are intended to contribute to the North West of England becoming a leading post-carbon industrial cluster in Europe.

As a result, EET will invest $2.4bn at its Stanlow site, where Essar’s joint venture with Progressive Energy, Vertex Hydrogen is developing a 1GW blue hydrogen production site in the North West UK hydrogen cluster HyNet.

Read more: Vertex Hydrogen deals total 1,000MW in UK HyNet North West

The company predicts that these investments will support the reduction of 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which it says would amount to 20% of the total industrial emissions in the North West of England.

In September last year (2022), Essar signed a Head of Terms offtake agreement with Vertex for 280MW of hydrogen to support the decarbonisation of its production facilities.

Read more: Essar Oil UK signs offtake agreement for 280MW of hydrogen

Prashant Ruia, Director of Essar Capital said the launch of EET came as a major milestone in the company’s commitment to put the UK at the forefront of low-carbon energy.

“We are excited about the opportunity to drive the UK’s energy transition by producing low-carbon future fuels which will help eliminate around 20% of the industrial carbon dioxide in North West England,” Ruia said. “In doing so, it will provide a blueprint for how traditional industries globally can be successfully transformed into hubs for the production of future energies.”

EET will also make a $1.2bn Indian investment aimed at developing a global supply hub for low-carbon fuels for India, including green hydrogen and green ammonia. H2 View understands, as part of the plan, ammonia will be shipped from India to the UK, Europe, and globally to meet expanding market demand for green hydrogen.

It is hoped the investment in India will help deliver the country’s emerging hydrogen ambition. In January (2023) the Indian Government approved a $2bn incentive plan to boost green hydrogen developments.

Read more: India approves $2bn incentive plan to boost green hydrogen

Tony Fountain, Managing Partner of EET, commented, “EET’s ambitious investment plans will not only help deliver the UK’s Net Zero ambitions and the enormous environmental benefits therein, but will also secure the long-term sustainable future for Stanlow, protecting and creating new highly skilled job opportunities at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse economy for generations to come.”