The projects are led by Scottish Power and Storegga and are expected to deliver hundreds of megawatts of green hydrogen production capacity before the end of the decade, with plans for the first facility to be operating by 2024.
Hydrogen production is typically delineated into ‘green’ methods, which can be carbon neutral through the use of electrolysis to separate it from water, and blue hydrogen, which is not carbon neutral as it is produced by splitting natural gas.
Blue hydrogen can only be described as a net-zero carbon fuel when used in conjunction with carbon capture and storage; furthermore, studies have found that blue hydrogen is more carbon-intensive as a source of heat than natural gas, coal, or diesel.
Green hydrogen is currently two to three times more expensive than blue hydrogen, which means most hydrogen produced globally is blue.
The first project to be progressed in Scotland will be the Cromarty Hydrogen Project, located just north of...