Eni UK and Uniper partnering for the decarbonisation of the North Wales energy sector

London, 30^th June 2021 - Eni UK and Uniper have announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly evaluate decarbonisation initiatives in North Wales. The collaboration, in line with the UK government's ten point plan for green industrial revolution, will investigate the technical and commercial feasibility to work together on future low carbon project initiatives in the region. 

Eni UK currently owns and operates the oil and gas fields in Liverpool Bay, feeding gas extracted from the fields into the Uniper owned Connah’s Quay power station in Flintshire.  The MOU will support Uniper’s investigations into future opportunities for blue and green hydrogen production at Uniper's site, capturing any CO₂ produced as a by-product from the process. While Eni UK will use its infrastructure to transport and store the CO₂ in Liverpool Bay.

Uniper’s Connah’s Quay facility is ideally located for low carbon hydrogen production as it has a source of gas from the national transmission system and is in close proximity to the existing Eni UK pipeline infrastructure, which is being repurposed to transport CO₂ as part of the move of Eni UK into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as part of the wider HyNet North West project.

Phillip Hemmens, Eni’s Head of North Europe Region Management said: “This is an exciting time to invest in decarbonisation technologies to make the UK a global leader in the green industrial revolution. We hope this commitment for future cooperation between Eni UK and Uniper will further complement our ongoing work with the wider HyNet North West project, placing the North West of England and North Wales at the forefront of the UK’s journey to Net Zero and helping to decarbonise many sectors of the economy from 2025 onwards.”

Mike Lockett, Uniper UK Country Chairman and Group Chief Commercial Officer Power, commented: “Uniper’s Connah’s Quay power station is ideally placed to be part of the decarbonisation story for North Wales and the North West of England, as we look to grow our hydrogen capability in the UK. We look forward to working together with Eni UK to explore future hydrogen production and CCS opportunities at the site.”

The MOU marks the latest in a number of agreements between Eni UK and companies based in the North West of England and North Wales as the company develops its CCS business. The agreements form part of company’s business strategy to lead the energy transition and play a significant role in the UK’s target for Net Zero emissions by 2050.

In May, a framework agreement with Progressive Energy Limited was signed to accelerate carbon capture and storage (CCS) within the HyNet North West low carbon cluster project. Eni UK holds a CO₂ storage appraisal licence, through which it plans to use its offshore fields in Liverpool Bay as a permanent storage site for CO₂.  Earlier this year, Eni UK established a new company ‘Liverpool Bay CCS Limited’, a wholly owned affiliate of Eni UK, to be the entity for future licensed operations under the Government’s envisaged regulated regime for CO₂ transport and storage.

Uniper is a pioneer in the field of hydrogen and has the technical expertise and experience to play a growing role in helping the UK reach its target of achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Uniper will contribute by investing in carefully selected projects and sharing its deep expertise in the development of hydrogen production and use, as well as helping to upskill the UK’s workforce, through its Engineering Academy. In 2020, Uniper pledged to make its own European power generation portfolio climate-neutral by 2035. With hydrogen technology as a cornerstone of its strategy, Connah’s Quay power station is well placed to play its part in Uniper’s and the UK’s future hydrogen story. The MOU with Eni UK is part of Uniper’s hydrogen growth strategy in the UK and forms one of a number of partnerships it has in place across the country.  

Uniper contacts:

Lindsey Firth / Sonia Luck
Phone: +44 7525 704146 / +44 7976 168356
E-mail: Pressoffice.uk@uniper.energy

^{Notes to Editors}

^{Eni UK
Eni is an energy company operating in 68 countries worldwide and employing around 30,000 people. Eni’s mission is inspired by the UN 2030 Agenda and these values are reflected in its business model, itself based on three pillars of long-term carbon neutrality, operational excellence and the creation of alliances for local development.}

^{Decarbonisation is structurally embedded in Eni’s overall strategy with the new target of Net Zero emissions at 2050.  Through several projects Eni UK is actively supporting the UK 10 Point Plan.}

^{Eni is active in the UK as operator of the Liverpool Bay Area project in North Wales and in October 2020 was awarded a CO₂ appraisal and storage licence by the Oil and Gas Authority.  Eni is working in Carbon Capture projects in collaboration with partners on the HyNet North West project and Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP).}

^{In December 2020 Eni entered the UK offshore wind market for electricity production through the acquisition of a 20% stake from Equinor and SSE Renewables of the Dogger Bank project, which, at full capacity, will be the world’s largest wind project of its kind.}

^{Uniper
About Uniper}

^{Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. With about 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220 bcm. Uniper is also a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonizing their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper is active worldwide along the entire value chain and is implementing projects to make hydrogen usable as a mainstay of energy supply. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf and currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.}

^{About Uniper UK}

^{In the UK, Uniper operates a flexible generation portfolio of seven power stations, and a fast-cycle gas storage facility. A broad range of commercial activities are offered through the Engineering Services division, while the Uniper Engineering Academy delivers high-quality technical training and government-accredited apprenticeship programmes for the utility, manufacturing and heavy industry sectors.
https://www.uniper.energy/}