JM’s LCH™ technology has been selected for the major FEED contract to advance the H2H Saltend project.

H2H Saltend is a 600MW low carbon hydrogen production plant with over a 95% carbon capture rate and is helping establish the Humber as an international hub for low carbon hydrogen, due to be operational by 2027.

This is the first phase of Equinor’s ‘Hydrogen to Humber’ (H2H) ambition to deliver 1.8GW of low carbon hydrogen production in the region, which is estimated to be nearly 20% of the UK’s national production target by 2030.

Alberto Giovanzana, Chief Commercial Officer, Catalyst Technologies at JM, said, “Using JM’s LCH™ technology for this project will enable the production of hydrogen with 95% less emissions and demonstrate the UK’s leadership in low carbon technologies.”

Equinor first submitted plans for H2H Saltend in 2022, being backed by Centrica Storage, INEOS Acetyls, Pensana, Triton Power, Vital Energi and Vivergo Fuel.

Read more: Plans submitted for 600MW hydrogen production facility in the UK

Equinor later submitted a co-funded bid worth over £16m ($19.6m) to the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, administered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which would be 50% privately funded, with a grant hoped to support the project with a target of reaching final investment decision (FID) by 2025.

Read more: £16m finding bid to UK Government for a 1.2GW hydrogen production facility announced

The FEED license of the H2H Saltend project will count towards JM’s milestone of winning more than 10 additional large-scale projects by 2023/24.

Last year, Honeywell and JM teamed up to combine the LCH™ technology with Honeywell’s carbon capture technology to produce lower carbon intensity hydrogen at scale.

Read more: Johnson Matthey and Honeywell partner on low-carbon hydrogen solutions