Edinburgh clean energy pioneer to work on ground-breaking hydrogen project in Wales

An Edinburgh-headquartered clean energy pioneer is to work on a “first-of-its-kind” hydrogen project in north Wales.

Bill Ireland is the chief executive of Edinburgh-headquartered Logan Energy. Picture: Chris Watt

Logan Energy has won a public tender contract with Welsh social enterprise Menter Mon to support the delivery of the hydrogen production plant, refuelling and distribution hub in Holyhead on Anglesey.

The hub – supported by the Isle of Anglesey County Council and the Welsh government’s local transport fund – aims to create 20 to 30 jobs initially and will help support hundreds of local businesses.

Logan Energy will be leading a consortium of local businesses and specialists to undertake the pre-works and development of the “hub and spoke” facility. Those involved include Olwg Ltd, Cadnant Planning, Stronachs LLP and local environmental consultant Patrick Bigham.

As the second largest roll-on, roll-off port in the UK, Holyhead was identified as an ideal site for the hub, hosting large HGV movements annually as well as potential demands at the port.

Providing a launchpad for larger, scaled-up green hydrogen production, the site should help release the full potential of the region’s vast renewable energy resources.

Project backers said scale-up could extend to trains, public transport, and shipping, and would include diversification to other hydrogen markets such as heat, industry, power, and agriculture.

With a target operational date of 2023, the project will be the first to be developed in Wales under a hub and spoke model, which will see collaborations with complementary developments in other regions of Wales, the UK, and the Republic of Ireland.

Bill Ireland, chief executive of Logan Energy, said: “There are huge renewable resources offshore – both tidal and wind – which together present a compelling case to develop a hydrogen supply-chain on Anglesey through this project.

“Kick-starting a local, sustainable hydrogen supply-chain under the control and majority ownership of a local entity is key to enabling local benefit and longer-term success, ensuring Holyhead and surrounding areas can pave the way for wide-scale low-carbon infrastructure in the region while developing a local workforce skilled in hydrogen technology.

“Such an ownership model will support the Welsh Government’s aim of increasing benefit from new energy generation and reaching its net zero targets by 2050.”

Logan Energy designs, installs, commissions and maintains energy centres across the UK and Europe, and has built up more than a decade of knowledge in stationary fuel cell and combined heat and power projects.

Dafydd Gruffydd, managing director of Menter Mon, said: “Wales is determined in its efforts to combat the effects of climate change and start building a sustainable future. For this, a robust low-carbon economy is crucial.

“Holyhead Hydrogen Hub represents a huge step forward in our plans to decarbonise the transport industry while supporting local jobs and business and by working collaboratively across north Wales.”

“The key advantage of this project is its scalability. While the plant aims to provide an initial fuel supply of 400kg per day, there is impressive potential to expand the hub to support additional heavy transport demands as well as the country’s public transport network services and emerging markets in heat and industry.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions