Cheshire leaders welcome government green light for HyNet project to move to construction stage creating 2,000 jobs

Cheshire and Warrington leaders today welcomed confirmation the government has given the green light for the HyNet green project to move to the construction phase -creating 2,000 local jobs.

The multi-billion HyNet hydrogen production hub will be built at the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port unlocking £5½ billion of investment and bringing 6000 new jobs to the area. EET Fuels, owner of the refinery, is building its own parallel hydrogen facility that will help decarbonise the site’s operations. 

Now the project has taken a leap forward with the government granting financial close to energy company Eni which will see them award around £2 billion in supply chain contracts for the backbone of the HyNet masterplan – its Liverpool Bay Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project.

HyNet officials say the green light will mean the Liverpool Bay CCS project can generate over 2,000 jobs during its initial construction phase, while also safeguarding and creating thousands more through investment across the region. Crucially Hynet say the majority of the supply chain contracts are being awarded locally, ensuring the benefits are felt across Cheshire and the wider region.

The government green light follows an announcement it made in February confirming HyNet will share £22bn of funding over a 25 year period with a similar project in the North East of England - Net Zero Teesside to make the UK “an early leader in two growing global sectors, CCUS and hydrogen”.

The government said the two projects will help remove over 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent of taking around 4 million cars off the road.

The investment complements the North West Net Zero Industrial Cluster plan, which centres around a £30bn pipeline of clean energy projects to unlock billions in investment and remove over 40 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year, as well as creating and safeguarding thousands of jobs.

Construction of HyNet will now begin, putting spades in the ground and putting the region on track for operations to begin in 2028.

And reacting to news Eni has received financial close from the government, Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington Chief Executive, Philip Cox said: “This is a really important milestone and moving to the construction phrase will not only unlock thousands of local jobs but further enhance the region’s collective efforts to make Cheshire and Warrington the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK.”

Announcing the financial close agreement, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This investment from our partnership with Eni is government working together with industry to kickstart growth and back engineers, welders and electricians through our mission to become a clean energy superpower.”

Eni say the the Liverpool Bay CCS project will operate “as the backbone of the HyNet Cluster” to transport carbon dioxide from capture plants across the North West of England and North Wales through new and repurposed infrastructure to safe and permanent storage in Eni’s depleted natural gas reservoirs, located under the seabed in Liverpool Bay.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said the “strategic agreement with the UK Government paves the way for the industrial-scale development of CCS” which would “play a crucial role in tackling the decarbonisation challenge by safely eliminating CO2 emissions from industries that currently do not have equally efficient and effective solutions”.

And David Parkin, Chair of the HyNet Alliance said: “HyNet positions North West England and North Wales as global leaders in low-carbon growth, attracting investment, boosting skills, creating and protecting jobs. We are delighted that Eni has reached financial close for HyNet’s carbon capture and storage network—an important milestone in turning the wider HyNet vision into reality. This progress strengthens the region’s industrial future whilst building a cleaner, stronger future for our communities.”

You can read the full government announcement HERE.