Renewable energy developer Marubeni Europower has announced plans to build a green hydrogen production facility in Bridgend, Wales.
The £31m project, known as the HyBont Green Hydrogen Project, aims to create a hydrogen production facility with electrolysers that generate hydrogen from electrical power by splitting water, along with hydrogen storage, and a hydrogen refuelling station on the land. The site, adjacent to Brynmenyn Industrial Estate in Brynmenyn, Bridgend, is currently owned by Bridgend County Borough Council and the applications also includes provision for an admin building, substation, hydrogen pipeline ‘off-take’, access, parking, security fencing, and drainage infrastructure.
If successful, the project is expected to be completed by 2025 and produce 443 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The hydrogen produced will be used to supply transport users such as refuse collection vehicles, HGVs, and up to 30 local and regional buses at the Brynmenyn site refuelling station dispensers. It will also be supplied to heat users at the Ynysawdre Cluster through a 1.2km underground pipe. Additionally, the facility plans to include a solar farm at Bryncethin to provide a proportion of the power needed.
The HyBont project has been shortlisted in the latest round of allocations for the UK Government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which supports the development of green hydrogen projects in the UK.
George Dodd, Senior Vice President at Marubeni Europower, expressed his gratitude to the local community and project team for their involvement in the consultation and information events. Dodd also highlighted how “green hydrogen has been identified as a key solution to decarbonise the energy system, and the HyBont project would contribute to the Council and Government’s aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
The Council’s Planning Authority will consult on the proposals before making a recommendation to the Development Control Committee, who will determine the planning application.
