Canford Renewable Energy has secured funding to to deliver its a green hydrogen facility in Dorset, the first of its kind in the south west of England.
The £6.5m (€7.8m) Dorset Green H2 facility will use only renewable energy generated by onsite solar and landfill gases to make green hydrogen, a clean, zero-emission fuel.
The site, previously used for landfill, has been used to generate electricity by harnessing naturally occurring methane gases from landfill since 1996.
The facility at Canford Resource Park, Poole, is expected to be operational later this year and is being funded via £3m from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), a £1.5m grant from Low Carbon Dorset and a £1.7m loan from NatWest and equity funding from Canford Renewable Energy.
Dorset Green H2 will see the installation of a 5MW ground-mounted array of solar panels at the site, which on overcast days and overnight will be supplemented by electricity produced from the site’s existing landfill gas.
Energy generated by renewable sources at the site, will consistently power a 0.87MW electrolyser, producing up to 120,000kg of green hydrogen each year to be compressed, stored, and sold for local and regional use as a carbon free fuel.
Green hydrogen is expected to play an important role in moving polluting, energy-intensive industries and heavy transport such as shipping, HGV lorries and trains, away from fossil fuels.
Producing only water vapour and oxygen as by-products, green hydrogen is a central part of the UK government’s plan to reach net zero.
Housing Minister Eddie Hughes said: “I am delighted to see funding go towards such a positive development in the South West, a real catalyst for a green hydrogen economy in Dorset.
“It is a priority of this overnment to level up opportunities and create a greener, more sustainable future.”
As the green hydrogen economy develops, there may be opportunities to decarbonise large vehicle fleets in Dorset.
Canford Renewable Energy managing director Nathan Ross said: “Canford Renewable Energy is an experienced, long-term developer and operator of renewable energy infrastructure.
“Dorset Green H2 is leading the way for the development of a hydrogen economy in Dorset and the South West, and we are looking to bring forward other green hydrogen production projects in the region.”