Gigastack

Located on the Humber, the Gigastack project aims to demonstrate the benefits of and potential for Green Hydrogen derived from offshore wind. The consortium will highlight the regulatory, commercial, and technical challenges to be overcome, developing a blueprint for deploying scalable electrolyser technology across the UK.

Green Hydrogen is essential for the decarbonisation of those sectors where direct electrification is not viable. These include industrial clusters, transport modes such as heavy-goods vehicles, trains, buses, manual handling equipment and maritime applications as well as the gas grid. It will facilitate the Humber’s ambitious transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and by 2050 for the UK as a whole. 

ITM Power has furthered the designs of its next generation of innovative stack technology. The new 5MW stack will enable the development of the 100MW electrolyser systems that are required to meet the UK’s legally binding net zero target by 2050. These installations will come at a fraction of today’s cost, with the installed electrolyser system costing less than £400/kW.

Gigastack brings together an ambitious consortium to prove economically viable Green Hydrogen at scale by:

• Developing electrolyser technology to produce Green Hydrogen at large-scale
• Coupling one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world with the largest carbon emitting industrial zone in the UK on a pathway to net zero
• Decarbonising large industrial clusters through collaboration

Renewable power is produced at Ørsted’s Hornsea 2 then fed from a substation into an ITM Power PEM electrolyser to split water into oxygen and Green Hydrogen. The Phillips 66 Humber Refinery will then use the Green Hydrogen, reducing CO2 emissions.

2019: Phase 1, Feasibility Study

• Initial feasibility study funded as part of BEIS’ Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition
• ITM Power developed designs for a low-cost modular 5MW PEM electrolyser stack
• Ørsted and Element Energy explored electrolyser-wind farm synergies to access low-cost Green Hydrogen production
• Element Energy undertook market analysis and explored business models for 100MW electrolysis

2020 to Q4-2021: Phase 2, Front End Engineering Design Study & Stack Development

• Further in-depth studies funded by Phase 2 of BEIS’ Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition
• Ørsted, Phillips 66, and ITM Power collaborate on a 100MW electrolyser Front End Engineering Design study for the supply of Green Hydrogen to the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery
• ITM Power furthers the design of its 5MW stack and tested a representative system
• ITM Power installed and trialled its semi-automated manufacturing equipment needed for mass-scale production
• Major report published describing the pathway to a final investment decision and commercial operation of a 100MW scale electrolyser system powered by offshore wind in 2025

2021 Q4 & beyond: Phase 3, Build & Connection 

• Deploy a large electrolyser in the Humber region
• Gigastack can act as a blueprint for deploying large-scale electrolyser technology across the UK for wider decarbonisation
• Gigastack will enable export of UK designed and built electrolyser equipment to large-scale Green Hydrogen projects around the world

To find out more, visit the Gigastack website.