A £750m hydrogen production plant is to be built on the banks of the River Mersey.
Essar, which operates the Stanlow oil refinery, and Progressive Energy, developers of HyNet North West, an industrial decarbonisation cluster, have joined forces to set up a venture to produce low carbon hydrogen at the Ellesmere Port refinery.
The joint venture will manufacture hydrogen for use across the HyNet region and is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs, followed by thousands more across the region once the network is completed.
It will provide Essar Oil UK with low carbon hydrogen to decarbonise its own energy demand in addition to creating a hydrogen economy across North West England and North East Wales.
Natural gas, and fuel gases from the refinery will be converted into low carbon hydrogen, with carbon dioxide safely captured and stored offshore in sub-surface reservoirs in Liverpool Bay.