Kent appointed as the FEED contractor for UK Hydrogen Village project

Kent has been appointed as the FEED contractor for aspects of Hydrogen Supply and Resilience for Cadent’s UK Hydrogen Village project.

Progressive Energy Limited (PEL) has appointed Kent to develop a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) to deliver hydrogen at the correct specification and availability for Cadent’s proposed Hydrogen Village project.

The primary purpose of the Hydrogen Village project is to demonstrate how to facilitate the decarbonisation of home and commercial heating by replacing domestic natural gas supply with hydrogen using existing local gas pipes.

Matt Wills, Market Director, Low Carbon, and Onshore Projects at Kent, said, “This win is a testament to the fantastic work we have been doing on Hydrogen projects in the UK. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with PEL having worked with them on HyNet for several years. It is a milestone project which, if it progresses to the next stage, will demonstrate how the rest of the UK could decarbonise heating and cooking in homes.”

Hydrogen demonstration projects, such as the proposed programme in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, are part of the plan to reduce household and commercial CO₂ emissions to reach the UK’s 2050 net zero targets.

Kent said in a statement that its scope of work for this project will include:

• Develop the FEED design for a Hydrogen Supply compound, which will handle Hydrogen before it is injected into a pipeline to supply Whitby Village in Ellesmere Port.
• Provide sufficient Hydrogen buffer storage to meet intraday design peak and comply with all Safety regulations.
• Develop FEED design for supporting infrastructure and utilities, ensuring the required resilience of the Hydrogen supply to Whitby.

In November 2020, the UK Government set out in its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution the ambition to support a “Village Trial” of 100 percent Hydrogen for use in home heating to commence in 2025. The overall contract for the Village sits with Cadent.