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