McDermott to work on Bacton Energy Hub project

McDermott International has joined a group of industry experts on the Bacton Energy Hub (BEH) project which includes hydrogen and CCUS.

The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is leading the BEH project, which could play a significant role in the UK’s energy transition. The hydrogen-led energy hub is located at Bacton, Norfolk, UK.

The project wants to deliver a sustainable hydrogen supply by 2030. It will do so by adding facilities that support low-carbon hydrogen production, carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS).

Also, through the development of offshore wind, it wants to develop renewable hydrogen production as part of the energy supply transition by 2050.

The NSTA has established five special interest groups (SIGs) to work on a development concept. The five SIGs are: hydrogen supply; hydrogen demand; regulatory; supply chain and technology; and infrastructure.

McDermott is now a core member of the infrastructure SIG. It will also lead Work Scope 6—Greenfield Onshore facilities.

“It’s great to see an organization like McDermott contributing to the BEH initiative, which aims to facilitate the transition to net-zero and reinforce the East of England’s position as a key region for low carbon power for the UK,” said Alistair MacFarlane from NSTA.

“The infrastructure SIG will play a vital role in maturing the opportunity at Bacton and hopefully enabling the industry to take investment decisions by 2024.”

The Infrastructure SIG will establish the offshore and onshore facilities required to produce, store and distribute both low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, with associated CCUS. The SIG will include industry and government input to perform a series of studies and make recommendations for future project development.

On the other hand, Summit Energy Evolution (SEEL) is responsible for the Bacton Energy Hub supply SIG and participates in other Bacton SIGs. To remind, SEEL has been established as the vehicle for Sumitomo’s future interests in hydrogen and other low-carbon energy businesses in the UK. This, in particular, refers to those related to decarbonisation of existing oil and gas infrastructure.