Green hydrogen development company Lhyfe is planning to build, if plans are approved, a 20 MW green hydrogen production facility in Wallsend, North Tyneside, in the UK.

The proposed facility will be capable of producing up to 8 t of green hydrogen a day.

The plant, named Lhyfe Wallsend, will supply a range of organisations seeking to decarbonise their manufacturing and transport operations. The proposed plant will occupy four acres of leased industrial-zoned land along the north bank of the River Tyne.

The brownfield site was once part of the Neptune Bank power station, which was an early twentieth-century high-voltage power distribution company and served as a model for the UK national grid.

Lhyfe Wallsend will use green electricity from the grid, complying with the UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard. The company is also exploring options to source power from local renewable assets, such as solar and wind.

Lhyfe is in advanced talks with several energy-intensive businesses in the area and across the UK, including those with transport fleets that could use hydrogen in their operations. Companies and sectors looking to decarbonise are encouraged to contact Lhyfe to discuss opportunities to collaborate, it noted.

“Lhyfe’s planning application will be submitted to North Tyneside Council in the spring, with a programme of community engagement under way. The project is subject to obtaining building permission and a financial investment decision,” it said.

Lhyfe’s proposed plant is receiving support from maritime and energy service provider Shepherd Offshore, which has more than 40 years of experience in the UK developing and operating facilities, as well as supporting world-class manufacturing on the north bank of the River Tyne.

Shepherd Offshore has also extensively redeveloped Neptune and Swans Energy Park, and offers more than 1 700 m of quay frontage and more than 200 acres of overall capacity on the north bank of the Tyne.

Further, in the UK, Lhyfe aims to become a major supplier to energy-intensive industries and transportation, boosting the country’s energy security and creating new economic opportunities.

It also has ambitions to develop offshore hydrogen production, tapping into the huge offshore wind potential the UK offers, the company said.

“We are excited to announce North Tyneside as the site for our first UK green hydrogen production project. The development of green hydrogen projects is critical if major energy users are to decarbonise their operations. We hope this project will not only help the North East but the whole of the UK reach its net-zero targets,” Lhyfe chief business officer Taia Kronborg said.

“We at Shepherd Offshore are excited to announce the partnership with Lhyfe on the hydrogen production facility in Wallsend. Shepherd Offshore is fully committed to another critical milestone in the growing strength and evolution of the River Tyne, and looks forward to welcoming Lhyfe to the north bank of the Tyne,” said Shepherd Offshore MD Charles Shepherd.