Essar to install hydrogen-ready furnace at Stanlow refinery
Oil and gas company spends $61mn on UK’s first 100pc hydrogen-fuelled refinery furnace at industrial complex in northeast England
Oil and gas company Essar is investing £45mn ($61mn) in the UK’s first refinery-based furnace capable of running on 100pc hydrogen. Installation of the furnace at the Stanlow refining complex in northwest England is subject to planning approval but is expected to start this year, with full operation scheduled for 2023. The furnace will initially run on natural gas but, from 2026, will source its fuel from a blue hydrogen plant under development at Stanlow by Vertex Hydrogen, a joint venture between Essar and technology company Progressive Energy. The blue hydrogen plant is part of a £1bn investment by Essar over the next five years and forms a central element of the Hynet North West decarbon
Also in this section
14 January 2026
Continent’s governments must seize the green hydrogen opportunity by refining policies and ramping up the development of supply chains and infrastructure
6 January 2026
Shifts in government policy and rising power demand will shape the clean hydrogen sector as it attempts to gain momentum following a sluggish performance in 2025
23 December 2025
Government backing and inflow of private capital point to breakthrough year for rising star of the country’s clean energy sector
19 December 2025
The hydrogen industry faces an important choice: coordinated co-evolution or patched-together piecemeal development. The way forward is integrated co-evolution, and freight corridors are a good example






