With a consortium of industry partners, academics, and local authorities, the initial feasibility study funded by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will be based at E.ON’s Blackburn Meadows renewable energy park, Sheffield.

Set to run until February 2023, the study will explore the supply chain needed to help industrial customers switch away from natural gas as a fuel, with a focus on hydrogen production, distribution, and industrial use.

H2 View understands the study will be focused on exploring the potential of generating hydrogen from biomass which can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in South Yorkshire’s steel industry.

Read more: How the pull of green steel can make green hydrogen competitive

The likes of Forgemaster and Forged Solutions, Chesterfield Special Cylinders, Glass Futures, and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, will be involved in the project.

If the study proves the business case, E.ON has said the project could progress into a technical pilot project on the Blackburn Meadows site, with potential for future expansion if the project is taken forward to a full commercial demonstration.

Michael Lewis, CEO of E.ON UK, commented, “Our Blackburn Meadows plant is the perfect example of a range of technologies coming together to provide a solution for an entire city and generating green hydrogen for Sheffield’s world-renowned steelmakers means an economic win for them, greater security of their energy supplies as well as better air quality for the city and accelerating Sheffield’s energy transition to Net Zero.”

Councillor Mazhar Iqbal, Co-Chair of the Transport, Regeneration, and Climate Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council, added, “Sheffield City Council are delighted to hear that E.ON’s application to BEIS’s Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator has been successful. Sheffield has a target to reach Net Zero by 2030.  Emissions from our industrial and commercial sector make up about 28% of the city’s overall emissions and we’re encouraged by E.ON’s proposal to generate green hydrogen here in Sheffield.”

Prof. Mohammed Pourkashanian, Head of Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield, commented, “This project takes a vital step in making this technology a reality for industrial partners, and its findings will not only support the decarbonisation of the steel industry, but also has potential to bring practical and theoretical knowledge to other foundation industries.”