Ballylumford Power-to-X Project to accelerate commercialisation of longer duration energy storage

B9 Energy, Mutual Energy, Islandmagee Energy and the Net Zero Technology Centre have formed a collaboration partnership to deliver phase one of the Power-to-X Project as part of the UK Government’s Department of Business Energy & Industry Strategy (BEIS) Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) Demonstration innovation competition.
BEIS has awarded £986,000 (1.18 million) to the 12-month Power-to-X Project, located in Ballylumford, Northern Ireland.
Supporting the UK’s first ever Hydrogen Strategy this project will drive forward the commitments laid out in the UK Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution which includes the ambition to deliver 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
Phase one of the Power-to-X Project will see the delivery of a front-end engineering design (FEED) to demonstrate the concept of innovative, first-of-a-kind, longer duration (>= 4hrs) energy storage technologies which can be deployed at scale, and where green hydrogen from renewable energy sources will be stored in underground salt caverns for later use as carbon free fuel in both the transport and power generation sectors.
David Surplus, managing director, B9 Energy, commented: “The award of this government funding from BEIS marks a pivotal moment in B9’s nine-year quest to define and develop a GW scale energy storage project that will allow offshore wind farms to be connected to the Northern Ireland electricity network without the attendant risk of life-long business interruption caused by curtailment.”
Paddy Larkin, chief executive, Mutual Energy, said: “Our overall purpose at Mutual Energy is to deliver energy infrastructure in the long-term interest of Northern Ireland energy consumers and we are therefore delighted to support the Ballylumford Power to X Project. It represents an innovative collaboration with the potential to bring significant energy security benefits to Northern Ireland consumers and support the necessary energy transition as we strive for net zero.”
Vinay Mulgundmath, chief technologist, Net Zero Technology Centre, commented: “The Ballylumford Power-to-X Project offers a significant opportunity to demonstrate the concept of longer duration energy storage technologies that will be key to developing a resilient energy supply chain whilst reducing carbon emissions, positioning the UK at the forefront of net zero objectives.”