Aberdeen City Council has today announced bp as its preferred bidder for a commercial partnership which will accelerate the city’s ambitions to become a world-class hydrogen hub.
The Joint venture, between Council and bp, will see bp operate a hub incorporating solar power, green hydrogen production and a refuelling facility for public transport.
Following a robust tender process which commenced in June, the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub concept will enable the continued development of a hydrogen economy in the city.
A key part of the programme will involve the creation of Scotland’s first scalable, green hydrogen production facility. Phase 1, which involves delivery of a green hydrogen facility, is targeting first operations from 2024.
As a result, options could include using power drawn from a new photovoltaic solar farm, green power purchase agreements and a private wire grid connection to generate hydrogen for buses, heavy goods vehicles and large vans.
Future phases could then see production scaled up through further investment to supply larger volumes of hydrogen for rail, freight and marine, as well as supply of hydrogen for heat and potentially export. This would be enabled by the expected increased availability of local renewable energy sources, including offshore wind developments that emerge from the ScotWind leasing round.
The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub programme will support Aberdeen City Council’s ambitions to create a climate positive city and build inclusive growth through supporting hydrogen supply chain development, skills and training, and wider community benefits. A study commissioned by Aberdeen City Council on the growth in demand for hydrogen power estimates that if the hydrogen hub enables the export of renewable hydrogen, then 700 jobs could be created in the hydrogen industry by 2030.
As the preferred bidder, bp will now work with Aberdeen City Council to conclude the contractual process which will lead to the set-up of the joint venture. Work will then commence on the required front end engineering design (FEED) work, with the aim of making a final investment decision on the selected development concept in 2023.
Partnering with cities and corporates as they shape their own paths to net zero is a core part of bp’s strategy introduced in August last year. Over the next decade, bp expects to partner with 10-15 cities globally to provide innovative, integrated and decarbonised energy solutions at scale to help them achieve their goals of net zero emissions.
Aberdeen City Council embarked upon its hydrogen journey more than 10 years ago and has already demonstrated how demand can be created within cities, using the zero emission fuel to power a fleet of 25 buses, 60 public sector vehicles and waste trucks, as well as the P&J Live events complex.
More than two million passengers have travelled on the city’s hydrogen buses, and CO2 savings to date are in excess of 100 tonnes over the last six years.