HyNet North West

HyNet North West
Name	HyNet North West
Location	North West England
Status	Proposed / In development
Partners	Cadent, Equinor, Progressive Energy, INEOS, National Grid, Annova LNG
Start	2020s
Country	United Kingdom
Type	Carbon capture and hydrogen project

HyNet North West is a major industrial decarbonisation initiative in North West England designed to deploy low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture technologies across petrochemical, refining, power and industrial sites. The programme intends to connect assets in Merseyside, Cheshire, Liverpool Bay, and Manchester with regional pipeline and storage networks, linking to offshore sequestration in the East Irish Sea and involving energy companies, utilities and public agencies. It forms part of the United Kingdom’s broader energy transition alongside other regional proposals and national strategies.

Overview

HyNet North West is conceived as a cluster integrating hydrogen production, gas blending, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and industrial fuel switching. Key organisations associated include Progressive Energy, Equinor, INEOS, Cadent Gas, National Grid and regional authorities such as Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Cheshire West and Chester Council. The initiative aligns with UK policy frameworks such as the Net Zero Strategy and informs UK industrial decarbonisation plans alongside projects like Northern Endurance Partnership and the East Coast Cluster. Stakeholders encompass energy majors, petrochemical firms, pipeline operators, and port authorities including Helsby, Stanlow, Ellesmere Port and Liverpool John Lennon Airport-neighboring infrastructure.

Project Scope and Infrastructure

Planned infrastructure covers hydrogen production facilities, repurposed natural gas pipelines, new transmission mains, compressor stations, and subsea CO2 export lines to offshore storage sites. Specific industrial sites proposed for integration include Stanlow Oil Refinery, Runcorn chemical complexes, and Huyton-area plants, with pipeline corridors traversing Cheshire, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester. The scheme proposes conversion or blending of hydrogen into existing distribution networks operated by Cadent Gas and gas transport interfaces with National Grid transmission assets. Offshore components would interface with exploration and storage licences managed in the Irish Sea region and coordinate with entities experienced in subsea pipelines such as BP, Shell, and Equinor.

Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)

The CCUS element involves capture at industrial emitters, compression, pipeline transport and offshore sequestration in depleted or saline formations. Technical partners and licence holders include Equinor, BP, and service firms active in North Sea projects like Subsea 7 and TechnipFMC. The project considers storage formations similar to those assessed in the Northern Endurance Partnership and other UK continental shelf programmes, engaging regulators such as the Oil and Gas Authority and Environment Agency. Utilisation routes under consideration reference feedstock applications in chemical plants at Ellesmere Port and potential enhanced oil recovery analogues studied in Morecambe Bay and Statfjord-era projects, although primary focus remains permanent geological storage.

Hydrogen Production and Distribution

Hydrogen will be produced via low-carbon routes including natural gas reforming with CCS and potential electrolytic production linked to renewables sited in North West England and offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea and Liverpool Bay. Industrial partners like INEOS and Progressive Energy plan dedicated production hubs near existing facilities such as Stanlow Oil Refinery and Ellesmere Port. Distribution plans target industrial fuel switching, hydrogen refuelling for transport users in Manchester conurbation, and blending into networks overseen by Cadent Gas, with interfaces to national transmission via National Grid. Technology suppliers and engineering firms involved include Siemens Energy, ABB, and Shell-affiliated units experienced in electrolysis and SMR with CCS.

Environmental and Economic Impacts

Projected environmental benefits emphasise reductions in CO2 emissions at heavy industry sites in Cheshire and Merseyside, contributing to UK targets in the Climate Change Act 2008 and Sixth Carbon Budget compliance. Economic impacts include capital investment, supply-chain work for fabricators and installers in North West England, job creation across port, engineering and service sectors, and potential competitiveness gains for chemical clusters like Runcorn. Environmental assessments consider marine impacts in Liverpool Bay and regulatory oversight from the Environment Agency and Natural England. Community and stakeholder engagement workstreams aim to address local air quality, noise and land use concerns referenced by local authorities including Warrington Borough Council and Halton Borough Council.

Governance, Partnerships and Funding

Governance structures combine private consortia, regional authorities and UK government programmes. Funding sources span private investment by firms such as Equinor, INEOS, and Cadent Gas, alongside public mechanisms including UK industrial support from departments involved in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy era policies and successor bodies linked to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Collaborative governance draws on precedent from multi-party projects like the Acorn CCS Project and regional delivery models used in the South Wales Industrial Cluster and Teesside Collective initiatives. Contracting and procurement engage major engineering contractors, finance houses and trade bodies including Energy Networks Association.

Development Timeline and Future Plans

Initial development phases through the 2020s focused on feasibility, front-end engineering design and securing regulatory consents, with demonstration and early deployment targeted at industrial anchor tenants. Later phases envisage scaling hydrogen supply, expanding CO2 transport capacity, and integrating additional emitters across North West England and potential cross-cluster links to schemes in Wales and the East Midlands. Future plans reference techno-economic studies, planning consents, and UK allocation mechanisms similar to those used for other CCUS clusters such as Humber and Net Zero Teesside. Continued alignment with UK industrial decarbonisation strategies and evolving subsidy frameworks will shape the project’s progression into commercial operation.

Category:Energy projects in England Category:Carbon capture and storage