Stanlow Refinery: Leading the UK's Hydrogen Revolution
Key Ideas
- Essar's Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, UK, is undergoing a transformation to operate solely on hydrogen, with design works already in progress by Wood.
- The project includes re-designing the crude distiller furnace to accommodate hydrogen combustion, sourced from sister company EET Hydrogen, as part of the UK's HyNet CCS cluster.
- EET Fuels has ambitious plans for low carbon projects at Stanlow, including hydrogen production plants set to significantly reduce emissions by 2030.
- The fuel switching process, with upcoming investment decisions, aims to decrease emissions by 200,000 t/y, signaling a shift towards a more sustainable and innovative future for the refinery.
Situated in Ellesmere Port, North West England, the Stanlow refinery is undergoing a significant transition towards hydrogen as Essar advances its Hydrogen Fuel Switching project. Essar's subsidiary, EET Fuels, has engaged Wood for the front-end engineering design to enable the combustion of hydrogen within the refinery. This project, part of the UK's £17.7bn HyNet CCS cluster, aims to significantly reduce emissions. Stanlow, a major player in the UK's fuel industry, is set to become the country's first low carbon refinery, with plans for hydrogen production plants and fuel switching processes in the pipeline. The refinery's emissions are expected to drop by 200,000 t/y, aligning with the company's goal of achieving a 95% reduction by 2030. The CEO of EET Fuels, Deepak Maheshwari, envisions a sustainable future for Stanlow, contributing to the UK's energy transition and employment growth in industrial regions.