Equinor has awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for H2H Saltend to Linde Engineering, and an operation and maintenance service contract to BOC.

Linde Engineering together with BOC, both Linde companies, participated in a design competition to provide proposals for FEED with options for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance for the first five (5) years (subject to EPC option being exercised).

H2H Saltend is a 600-megawatt low-carbon H₂ production plant with carbon capture, the first of its kind and scale, helping to establish the Humber as an international hub for low-carbon H₂. The plant design will use Linde Engineering’s H₂ and air separation technologies, which will be combined with UK-based Johnson Matthey’s LCH technology. The plant will be operated and maintained by BOC, drawing on decades of operational experience in the region and across the UK.

Due to be operational by 2027 and sited at the energy intensive Saltend Chemicals Park, to the east of Hull, it will help to reduce the park’s emissions by up to one third. To achieve this, low carbon H₂ will directly replace natural gas in several industrial facilities reducing the carbon intensity of their products, as well as being blended into natural gas at the Equinor and SSE Thermal’s onsite Saltend Power Station. The amount of CO₂ stored will be around 890,000 tpy equivalent to taking about 500,000 cars off the road annually.

H2H Saltend is the kick-starter project for the wider Zero Carbon Humber scheme, which will provide regional infrastructure from Easington to Drax. The infrastructure will transport H₂ to industrial customers seeking to reduce their emissions whilst also capturing carbon dioxide for safe sub-sea storage as part of the East Coast Cluster. These proposals aim to make the Humber, currently the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial region, net-zero by 2040.

The project also forms part of Equinor’s wider H₂ to Humber ambition to deliver 1.8 gigawatts of low-carbon H₂ production within the region, nearly 20% of the UK’s national target.

Linde is a global leader in the production, processing, storage and distribution of H₂. It has installed over 200 H₂ fueling stations and 80 H₂ electrolysis plants worldwide. The company offers the latest H₂ technologies through its world-class engineering organization, which has proven capability in engineering, procurement and construction of large plants. As the UK's largest H₂ supplier, BOC has proven ability in the safe and reliable operation of H₂ plants and has a strong presence in the Humber region.

Asbjørn Haugsgjerd, Equinor’s Project Director for the H2H Saltend project, said, “We are delighted to be working alongside Linde, who have demonstrated their expertise and commitment throughout the rigorous selection process over the last year and through their previous work with this technology and operations.

H2H Saltend is a vital first step in creating a low-carbon H₂ economy and achieving net zero in the Humber, safeguarding local industries and creating greater opportunities, whilst helping the UK to tackle climate change. With Linde Engineering, BOC and Johnson Matthey on board we are even better positioned to deliver this vision.”