UK to back 11 green hydrogen projects under $2.5 billion fund

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Energy Security Secretary, Claire Coutinho, announced on Thursday backing 11 projects to produce green hydrogen, as part of the government's 2 billion pound ($2.5 billion) funding to be committed over the next 15 years.

The 11 successful projects, with capacity totalling 125 megawatts (MW), were selected to be offered contracts under the government's first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1), launched in July 2022.

Britain has a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and green hydrogen, made by using renewable energy to split water, is seen as one of the key sectors that will help achieve this target and provide cleaner fuel for energy intensive industries and transport.

"Hydrogen presents a massive economic opportunity for the UK, unlocking over 12,000 jobs and up to 11 billion pounds of investment by 2030," Coutinho said.

"Today's announcement represents the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen production projects announced at once anywhere in Europe," she added.

In return for the government support, the successful projects will invest over 400 million pounds in the next three years, generating more than 700 jobs in local communities across the UK and delivering 125 MW of new hydrogen for businesses.

The 11 projects have been agreed at a weighted average strike price of 241 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh).

Storegga and Scottish Power's Cromarty hydrogen scheme is among the list of projects set to receive a guaranteed price for its output.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by David Evans)