SSE is working with Equinor and other businesses on a plan for the decarbonisation of the Humber region in north-east England.
The consortium that also includes Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is producing a Humber Cluster Plan to show how the region can achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The consortium has submitted a joint funding proposal for the plan to Innovate UK as part of the UK Government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund scheme.
The plan will act as a roadmap for the large-scale decarbonisation of the Humber, prioritising “near-term deliverable investments”, whilst mapping out how carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen infrastructure can be scaled up over time.
The eight companies involved in the funding bid, in addition to Equinor and SSE Thermal, are Drax, National Grid Ventures, Centrica, VPI Immingham, British Steel and Phillips 66.
A decision on the funding bid is expected in autumn 2020, with the project set to begin in January.
There are separate phase two bids for the first deployment projects due to be submitted in October.
The Humber is the UK’s most carbon-intensive region and also one of the most vulnerable to climate change due to flood risk.
It is also home to major industrial activity, meaning the decarbonisation of the region will help support thousands of jobs as the UK transitions to a net zero economy in the decades ahead.
SSE Thermal is aiming to develop a major clean power hub in the Humber region at Keadby, North Lincolnshire, uing emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen technologies.
The company is already constructing the 840MW Keadby 2, which the company claims will be the UK’s most efficient gas-fired power station when completed in 2022.
SSE Thermal is also developing a 900MW low carbon power station at the site, known as Keadby 3, which could become the UK’s first decarbonised gas-fired power station by the mid-2020s.
SSE Thermal managing director Stephen Wheeler said: “We know the Humber has the potential to lead the way in the UK’s transition to net zero, and it’s crucial that we’re working across the various industries in the region to turn this vision into a reality.
“We need a coordinated and comprehensive plan to deliver large-scale decarbonisation, which in turn will safeguard and create local jobs, and open up new growth opportunities for the region.
“In SSE Thermal, we are working to create a clean power hub at Keadby, which would deliver huge investment and hundreds of jobs in the coming years, as well as acting as a key anchor for the wider decarbonisation of the region.”