Humber specialists agree ‘world-first’
Pensana’s rare earth processing hub will be the first to be powered by offshore wind after agreeing a partnership with Yorkshire Energy Park.
Yorkshire Energy Park (YEP) chairman Chris Turner, said: “The future for energy in the Humber estuary is very exciting and YEP is at the forefront of the drive to zero-carbon.”
The two organisations have signed a letter of intent securing private wire connection to battery storage operated by Yorkshire Energy Park. Pensana will have access to 4MW rising to 10MW of low carbon electricity for 10 years.
The Yorkshire Energy Park, which is next to Pensana at Saltend Chemicals Park, will include up to 200 MW of battery storage.
Pensana chairman Paul Atherley said: “Our aim is to become the world’s lowest carbon magnet metal producer, with Pensana becoming the first company globally to use offshore wind to produce ultra-low carbon magnet metal.”
Pensana will use the electricity to power the Saltend separation facility and then later to power the conversion of NdPr Oxide into magnet metal.
The £200m next-generation energy facility will connect 7 GW of offshore wind to industrial consumers via large-scale batteries. The closest wind farm is the RWE-operated Humber Gateway located 32 kilometres from Saltend.
Atherley added: “In our off-take discussions with the major automotive OEMs there is increasing importance being placed on the security of supply and low-embedded carbon.
“The production of an ultra-low carbon magnet metal further enhances Saltend in its rapidly growing importance in the European and US magnet metal supply chains.”
