Key consultation phase opens for HyNet North West hydrogen pipeline plans

A third, and likely final, public consultation on energy firm Cadent’s plans for a new underground hydrogen pipeline across the North West, has opened.

The consultation will run until November 19, 2024, and will include eight in-person consultation events across the project area, along with two online events.

The project includes the construction, operation and maintenance of around 100km of new pipeline which will safely distribute low carbon hydrogen, primarily produced by EET Hydrogen at its Stanlow Manufacturing Complex near Ellesmere Port, to various industrial offtakers across the region.

The project also includes smaller pipelines, or spurs, branching off from the main pipeline route to provide connections to specific industrial offtakers. The pipeline will be under ground, although nine Hydrogen Above Ground Installations (HAGIs) and two Block Valve Installations (BVIs) will be required along the pipeline route.

Cadent is asking people to share feedback on its updated design. This includes the Draft Order Limits, within which the pipeline will be routed, temporary construction areas and potential HAGI/BVI sites.

Cadent has also published its Draft Environmental Statement, which it welcomes comments on.

The HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline will be the UK’s first 100% hydrogen pipeline network at scale. It is essential to unlocking the benefits and ambitions of the HyNet North West scheme and achieving the UK’s target of a zero carbon power system by 2030 and reaching Net Zero.

The hydrogen pipeline is central to realising the benefits of the HyNet North West low carbon hydrogen cluster, including securing existing high skilled employment in the region and promoting opportunities for new green jobs. 

Earlier this month the Government confirmed that HyNet, in the North West, had been given the green light, unlocking the decarbonisation of industry and growth across the North West and North Wales industrial heartlands.

It is part of a £22bn pledge, over the next 25 years, for projects to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production, focused on two “carbon capture clusters” on Merseyside and Teesside, which will create thousands of jobs, attract private investment and help the UK meet climate goals.

Cadent first undertook consultation on its proposals at the start of 2022 and held a further consultation in autumn 2022 at which more detailed plans, informed by people’s feedback, and further technical, engineering and environmental work, were presented.

This current consultation will be the third, and likely, final stage of public engagement before the DCO (Development Consent Order) application for the project is submitted.

The HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). Following this consultation, once the final design has been developed, Cadent will submit an application to the Planning Inspectorate and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for a DCO.

It expects to do this in spring 2025 and for a final decision to be made in 2026.

Rob Donovan, project director, Cadent’s HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline, said: “This latest design includes changes made thanks to community feedback gathered from both previous stages of consultation and has also been informed by further technical and environmental work.

“We encourage local communities and authorities, as well as industry partners to share their views on these more detailed plans, to help us further develop our designs ahead of submitting our application for consent.

“The feedback we receive is crucial to ensuring the success of our proposals.”

He added: “This project is key to decarbonising the North West and helping to reaching Net Zero, in addition to creating more green jobs and industry in the region.”

Details on the consultation can be found by visiting Cadent’s online consultation hub at www.hynethydrogenpipeline.co.uk