Plans for the UK’s largest energy storage facility have taken a major step forward.
EnergyPathways wants to create the integrated facility, which will comprise compressed air energy storage, natural gas storage transitioning to hydrogen storage and complementary hydrogen production for clean power and sustainable industry uses in the east Irish Sea and Barrow.
The firm said it would put Barrow at the centre of the major UK energy infrastructure development.
It has now been awarded a gas storage licence by the North Sea Transition Authority, which the company said was a major milestone.
It said the licence spanned a substantial offshore areathat could support the construction of up to 60 large-scale, sub-surface salt storage caverns with
potential for multi-terawatt hour energy storage, subject to consents and financing.
In September, the project was designated by the Government as having national significance.
EnergyPathways, with its Tier One partnership group, including Siemens Energy, Costain plc, Wood plc and Zenith Energy will now progress the project to a Final Investment Decision in 2028 and start up by late 2031, subject to planning and associated approvals, it added.
The company had already initiated several funding and capacity offtake discussions, it said.
Ben Clube, CEO of EnergyPathways, said: “The current Middle East crisis serves as a stark reminder of Britain’s limited energy storage capacity that leaves it vulnerable to global supply shocks and the resulting impact of higher energy bills.
“The development of MESH and other forms of long duration energy storage can play a vital role in lowering energy prices, bolstering energy security and achieving a clean energy system.
“With the gas storage licence, EnergyPathways will now move at pace to get to FID as quickly as possible.
“Both the gas storage and CAES storage will each be commercially viable in their own right, however there are several synergies and cost efficiencies between the two projects that can now be secured.”
