Plans progress for floating hydrogen facility off Welsh coast
Plans for a pioneering project to produce green hydrogen in the Celtic Sea have advanced.
The Milford Haven: Hydrogen Kingdom (MH:HK) initiative will use a combination of offshore wind power and electrolysis – the process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – to generate renewable hydrogen at scale.
The project is being delivered by a consortium of energy and infrastructure organisations, including Celtic Sea Power, Dolphyn Hydrogen, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, and Wales & West Utilities.
Together, they have now completed key technical designs and advanced the consenting process, bringing the demonstrator phase significantly closer to construction.
Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone
The floating hydrogen production site will be based at the Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone (PDZ) – a 90 km² offshore test area off the south coast of Wales leased from the Crown Estate and managed by Celtic Sea Power as part of the Pembroke Dock Marine programme.
The project will begin with a 10–15 MW demonstrator, with plans to scale up to over 135 MW in later phases.
Once operational, the full facility could produce more than 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year, enough to fuel south Wales’s key industrial hubs and transport corridors.
Brad Davies, Survey and Consents Manager at Celtic Sea Power, said: “Milford Haven: Hydrogen Kingdom helps further lay the foundations for a large-scale, low-carbon hydrogen economy in Wales. A key part of this project was establishing a consenting pathway through collaboration with regulators and stakeholders. This strengthens the case for long-term clean energy investment in South Wales.”
Hydrogen strategy
The project supports the UK Government’s national hydrogen strategy, aligns with regional initiatives such as Project Union, HyLine Cymru, and the Milford Haven Future Energy Cluster, and fits within the ambitions of the Celtic Freeport.
By advancing Dolphyn Hydrogen technology and exploring co-location with wave energy systems, MH:HK aims to create a model for sustainable offshore energy production and hydrogen distribution.
The initiative is backed by Innovate UK under its Launchpad: Net Zero Industry South West Wales programme and co-funded through the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Pembroke Dock Marine programme.
For more information, visit www.milfordhavenhydrogenkingdom.com.
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All the organisations are based outside Wales – this is appalling.
But is the green hydrogen even green? Does anyone use anything that runs on it…
The green in green hydrogen refers to how it’s produced not how it’s used. And there’s a whole bunch of gas fired power stations waiting to be adapted to run on hydrogen if only we made enough of it. Imagine that, when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow we just burn clean green hydrogen to keep the lights on. Bet that keeps Putin awake at night.
I would highly recommend that anyone reading this post should also read the discussion on a Linkedin that can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mliebreich_hydrogensoufflaez-share-7381699647276269568-Nwid?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAll1Q8Bk8DpBHeoNjSDWW9zi63UOwdQiaE This idea is a total waste of taxpayer money that could probably provide many times the amount of Carbon savings if used for other clean energy projects. Until we have an electricity grid that is low carbon for most of the time, using any low carbon electricity for hydrogen production, instead of feeding it into the electricity grid, effectively produces almost double the amount of CO2 emissions compared to producing grey hydrogen from natural gas. That may… Read more »