AIM-listed EnergyPathways, the UK energy transition company, has formally submitted an application for a Gas Storage Licence covering the natural gas and hydrogen storage elements of its flagship MESH project, located off the Cumbria coast in the East Irish Sea.
This follows the Company's update on 26 September in which it announced that Ed Milliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, confirmed that MESH should be considered a development of national significance.
This new licence application spans an area with potential for up to 60 storage salt caverns for natural gas and hydrogen storage. This represents an almost fourfold increase in the area EnergyPathways is targeting for salt cavern development.
The Company intends to submit an application to the Secretary of State for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the other elements of the MESH project.
Ben Clube, CEO of EnergyPathways, said:
'We are delighted to have formally submitted a natural gas and hydrogen storage licence application for MESH. Following the positive endorsement of MESH by the Secretary of State as a development of national significance, we are hopeful of receiving a decision on this application soon.
'If successful with its application, EnergyPathways plans to progress a hydrogen storage and transportation project which will be integrated with its 90 MW methane pyrolysis hydrogen production facility being developed in conjunction with KBR and Hazer*. The planned hydrogen storage will be able to supply the Company's hydrogen-to-power system being developed with Siemens Energy**.
'The Company also plans to develop natural gas storage to help shore up the UK's security of energy supply. The UK has meagre existing gas storage capacity. The Company considers this licence area, and the Irish Sea region more broadly, as having significant potential for large-scale economic development of natural gas storage.
'We look forward to updating the market in due course.'
* KBR Inc. and Hazer Limited
** Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
Source: Energypathways
