Scotland-based clean energy solutions provider Logan Energy won a public tender contract with Welsh social enterprise, Menter Môn, to support the delivery of a hydrogen production plant, refueling and distribution hub in Holyhead, North Wales. The Holyhead Hydrogen Hub will be a first of its kind and is supported by the Isle of Anglesey County Council and the Welsh Government’s Local Transport Fund.

The Holyhead Hydrogen Hub Feasibility Study found that the preferred configuration for a hydrogen supply system at Holyhead is based on a “hub-and-spoke” model, whereby hydrogen is produced at a centralized hub and can be supplied to on-site refueling stations or transported to those sited elsewhere to meet customers’ demands. The configuration is shown above for a Hub based at Parc Cybi and an initial Spoke at the Port.

Logan Energy will be leading a consortium of local businesses and specialists to undertake the pre-works and development of the hub-and-spoke facility on Holyhead. Those involved include Olwg Ltd., Cadnant Planning, Stronachs LLP, and local Environmental Consultant, Patrick Bigham.

As an industry which contributes to around a quarter of global CO₂ emissions, the energy-intensive haulage and heavy transport sector is in urgent need of efficient and scalable low-carbon energy solutions if net-zero targets are to be met by 2050. The current fuel demands of heavy industry goods vehicles in the Holyhead region are large and an initial study has identified a supply rate of more than 400 kg/day can kick-start the Hub which could be established by 2023.

As the second largest roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) port in the UK, with 500,000 annual HGV movements, Holyhead was identified as an ideal site for the Hub, hosting large HGV movements annually as well as potential demands at the port. Providing an ideal launchpad for larger, scaled-up green hydrogen production, the site will help release the full potential of the region’s vast renewable energy resources.

Scale-up can extend to trains, public transport, and shipping, and will include diversification to other hydrogen markets such as heat, industry, power, and agriculture. With a target operational date of 2023, this project will be the first to be developed in Wales under a Hub & Spoke model, which will see collaborations with complementary developments in other regions of Wales, the UK, and the Republic of Ireland.

There are huge renewable resources offshore—both tidal and wind—which together present a compelling case to develop a hydrogen supply-chain on Anglesey through this project. Kick-starting a local, sustainable hydrogen supply-chain under the control and majority ownership of a local entity is key to enabling local benefit and longer-term success, ensuring Holyhead and surrounding areas can pave the way for wide-scale low-carbon infrastructure in the region while developing a local workforce skilled in hydrogen technology. Such an ownership model will support the Welsh Government’s aim of increasing benefit from new energy generation and reaching its net zero targets by 2050.

—Bill Ireland, CEO of Logan Energy

The project has already gained a wide positive response from local employers such as Stena Line and major haulage companies such as Delivery Solutions and Gwynedd Shipping. The Hub has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 1,700 tonnes per year, supporting carbon-intensive industries to adapt and thrive in a green economy.

Resources

• Holyhead Hydrogen Hub Feasibility Study (Summary)