Octopus Energy and RES have entered into a partnership to invest £3bn in building green hydrogen plants across the UK by 2030.
The partnership aims to deliver a “home-grown, reliable and cost-competitive” source of clean hydrogen that is insulated from present and future gas price volatility, while helping decarbonise industrial businesses.
Octopus Renewables and RES will collectively develop, own and operate green hydrogen plants which use renewable energy.
The aim of the partnership is to make the most of renewable electricity when it is generated in abundance on sunny and windy days by storing them as hydrogen molecules.
The team will work with large industrial businesses who want to be leaders in decarbonisation.
Octopus Renewables manages more than 300 solar, onshore wind and biomass projects worth over £3.4bn.
In July the company joined the Octopus Energy Group, bringing the supply and the generation side of energy together under one roof.
RES has delivered 22GW of generation capacity across the globe.
Octopus Renewables co-head Alex Brierley said: “The supply of green hydrogen will be critical to the success of many industries in meeting the UK’s net zero targets and with this partnership we are providing a solution for those businesses to help deliver on the government’s ambitions.
“We invite industrial businesses that are currently using hydrogen to contact us and benefit from the early mover advantage.”
Rachel Ruffle, EMEA CEO for RES, added: “We know that renewable based electrification using wind and solar is the fastest way to decarbonise.
“When coupled with the production of green hydrogen, it becomes the natural choice for industry and our hard to abate sectors.
“Our partnership will enable industrial users to make the switch to reliable and cost-effective green hydrogen.”