In a document, the company outlines the need for these low-carbon technologies and the potential of carbon capture and hydrogen in providing flexible back-up to renewables, and urges the Government to:

Progress the deployment of carbon capture and storage and hydrogen infrastructure in a minimum of four industrial areas by 2030
Support first-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage and hydrogen projects to investment decisions before the end of next year
Increase its ambition for power CCS to 7-9GW by 2030, with regular auctions for Dispatchable Power Agreements
Set out a policy ambition for hydrogen in the power sector and a strategy for delivering at least 8GW of hydrogen-capable power stations by 2030
Accelerate the delivery of business models for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, to kickstart the hydrogen economy

The low-carbon developer is bringing forward multiple low-carbon projects across the UK. This includes Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station in the Humber – which is being developed in collaboration with Equinor and recently became the first power CCS project in the country to receive planning permission – and Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder, which would unite hydrogen production, storage and power generation in one location by the middle of this decade.

These projects would form part of SSE’s £24bn investment programme in the UK, and in addition to supporting the decarbonisation of industrial heartlands and powering a low-carbon future, they would also help to secure a just transition for workers and communities.

Speaking at the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Conference underway in Birmingham, Catherine Raw, Managing Director of SSE Thermal, said the vision is effectively a manifesto for SSE to deliver a balanced power system, ensuring how it will invest in Net Zero technologies and create a just transition that communities can support.

She said, “We are at a point where talk is turning into action. We are completing our front end engineering and design studies. We are speaking to our boards about investing billions of pounds of capital over the next five years. And we are waiting for the starting gun to be fine. We have the projects that ultimately deliver a hydrogen economy by the end of this decade. And what we need to do is just the ability to act.”

SSE Thermal faces competition from Net Zero Teesside, a collection of industrial, power and hydrogen businesses which aim to decarbonise their operations through the deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), which will also be in the UK government’s eyeline when it comes to making final investment decisions.

The north-east region has gathered support from leading partner companies including NZT Power, BOC, CF Fertiliser, Kellas, H2Teesside (bp), Suez, TV ERF and 8 Rivers. NZT Power was shortlisted in phase-2 of the UK Government’s CCUS cluster sequencing process last August.

In October 2021 the East Coast Cluster was named one of the UK’s first two CCUS clusters following a successful bid in Phase-1 of the government’s process.

The H2 View team will be reporting all the latest news and views from the conference floor.