A SCOTTISH green energy company has brought forward plans involving a major consortium to ship hydrogen from Scotland to the Netherlands.

The partners will work together to undertake engineering studies targeted at developing a pilot project as a precursor to large-scale export. 

The project will be delivered by a diverse, international consortium, including Axens, Chiyoda, EnQuest, ERM, Koole Terminals, Port of Rotterdam, Scottish Government, Shetland Islands Council, Storegga and the Aberdeen-based Net Zero Technology Centre.

The Net Zero Technology Centre and ERM said the launch of the Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) for Hydrogen Transport from Scotland (LHyTS) project will play a key role in the export of hydrogen from Scotland to Rotterdam.

The LHyTS project seeks to demonstrate that LOHC, in the form of methylcyclohexane, can be successfully transported at scale, providing an export route to the Port of Rotterdam and other European destinations.

Hayleigh Barnett, project manager at the Net Zero Technology Centre, which is chaired by former Aberdeen Standard Investments chief Martin Gilbert, said: "The main challenge in exporting hydrogen is choosing the best means of transportation.

“Early-stage studies in this project have concluded that LOHC has several advantages over other carrier forms, such as ammonia, methanol or liquid hydrogen.

“Conducting an industrial scale trial is an exciting step in making LOHC export a reality."

Paul Massie, of EnQuest, said “hydrogen is a key part of our future plans”, while Sara Potts, of Storegga, said that “the north-east of Scotland is playing an important role in developing the huge potential of hydrogen in the UK”.

Andrew Sneddon, consulting director at ERM said: “With the predicted demand for hydrogen in Europe, this project represents a significant step forward in enabling the safe and efficient export of hydrogen to a growing market.”


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