Kent has been appointed as the front-end engineering design (FEED) contractor for aspects of H₂ supply and resilience for Cadent’s UK Hydrogen Village project. Kent has been involved in over 50 H₂ projects worldwide and is an engineering partner at HyNet (NW England).

Progressive Energy Limited (PEL) has appointed Kent to develop a FEED to deliver H₂ at the correct specification and availability for Cadent’s proposed Hydrogen Village project.

Cadent has proposed to bring the first ever UK Hydrogen Village project to Whitby in Ellesmere Port from 2025; its program proposal is one of two shortlisted by the UK Government. A final decision on where the Hydrogen Village project will take place is expected to be made next year.

The primary purpose of the Hydrogen Village project is to demonstrate how to facilitate the decarbonization of home and commercial heating by replacing domestic natural gas supply with H₂ using existing local gas pipes.

Hydrogen demonstration projects, such as the proposed program in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, are part of the plan to reduce household and commercial CO₂ emissions to reach the UK’s 2050 net-zero targets. Kent’s scope of work for this project will include:

• Develop the FEED design for a Hydrogen Supply compound, which will handle H₂ before it is injected into a pipeline to supply Whitby Village in Ellesmere Port.
• Provide sufficient H₂ buffer storage to meet intraday design peak and comply with all safety regulations.
• Develop FEED design for supporting infrastructure and utilities, ensuring the required resilience of the H₂ supply to Whitby.

Matt Wills, Market Director, Low Carbon, and Onshore Projects at Kent said, “This win is a testament to the fantastic work we have been doing on hydrogen projects in the UK. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with PEL having worked with them on HyNet for several years. It is a milestone project which, if it progresses to the next stage, will demonstrate how the rest of the UK could decarbonize heating and cooking in homes.”

In November 2020, the UK Government set out in its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution the ambition to support a Village Trial of 100% H₂ for use in home heating to commence in 2025. The overall contract for the Village sits with Cadent.