Aberdeen City Council and bp have recently signed an agreement to form a joint venture partnership that will deliver a scalable green hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility in the city powered by renewable energy.

The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub is to be developed in three phases in response to growing demands for hydrogen.

Phase one, which involves delivery of a green hydrogen production and transport refuelling facility powered by a solar farm, is targeting first production from 2024, delivering over 800 kilograms of green hydrogen per day – enough to fuel 25 buses and a similar number of other fleet vehicles.

Aberdeen City Council and bp – which will operate the joint venture under the name bp Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy Limited – have committed £3 million for initial design work with a final investment decision for the phase one facility build expected in early 2023.

Future phases could see production scaled up through further investment to supply larger volumes of green hydrogen for rail, freight and marine, as well as supply of hydrogen for heat and potentially export. This expansion would be enabled by the expected increased availability of local renewable energy sources, including developments that emerge from the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round.

The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub programme will support Aberdeen City Council’s ambitions to create a climate positive city and build inclusive growth through supporting hydrogen supply chain development, skills and training, and wider community benefits.

“Today is a milestone in delivery of our hydrogen programme. We are now seeing the benefits of having our 2015 Hydrogen Plan in place that provided a clear statement on the scale of our ambition to deploy hydrogen power in Aberdeen,” Councillor Jenny Laing, leader, Aberdeen City Council, said.

Louise Kingham CBE, bp’s UK head of country and senior vice president for Europe, said: “bp is investing across all the energy transition growth areas in the UK. In fact, we have committed to spend £2 in the UK for every £1 generated here out to the middle of this decade.

“Today’s announcement is evidence of that commitment in action and is supported by other ambitious plans to produce clean energy from UK offshore wind, develop carbon capture in Teesside and grow the country’s electric vehicle charging network.”