Aberdeen City Council has opened a tender for a joint venture partner to build Scotland’s first commercially scalable, investable hydrogen production site in the city. It follows a market engagement exercise conducted earlier this year that prompted ‘significant interest’.

The Council has agreed in principle to provide £19.4 million investment in the Hydrogen Energy Partnership. The strategic partner will be expected to provide finance and investment along with scoping, design, procurement, project management, implementation, delivery, operation, maintenance, commercial support and technical expertise.
The planned Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, a hydrogen infrastructure development programme working across housing, heating and transport, is looking for a partner to supply its range of public sector vehicles. The Hydrogen Hub aims to capitalise on the region’s role in the rapidly growing offshore wind sector to provide ‘green’ hydrogen. The joint venture will have a 10-20 year hydrogen supply agreement with the Council.
Phase 1 will include procurement of a hydrogen production facility for public sector consumption of green hydrogen to support both existing and proposed transport projects.
Phase 2 envisages supply to larger volume utilisation hydrogen vehicles such as rail, freight and marine. Phase 3 will involve the supply of hydrogen for heat and export.

The new partnership will build on the city’s existing hydrogen infrastructure and transport projects, including a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses, public sector vehicles and waste trucks.

Aberdeen City Council Leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: “Over the past five years, Aberdeen has established itself as a centre of excellence for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Taking the energy expertise, experience and infrastructure already in place in Aberdeen, the city has successfully implemented large scale hydrogen projects laying the foundations for more to follow. At the City Region level, there is an opportunity to expand into large scale upstream production and supply for both domestic and export markets through the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub concept.

“The Hub will capitalise on Aberdeen’s leading role as a pioneering hydrogen city and create a springboard for economic growth, future investment, technology development and job creation across the region.”

The tender closes on 22 July. The tender document is here