Essar is moving forward on a £4.3 billion plan to turn its Stanlow refinery in northwest England into a low-carbon energy hub. More than £1 billion of projects are nearing final investment decision, with low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon heat first in line. The company is developing a 350MW hydrogen plant tied to the HyNet cluster and expects to follow with a Methanol-to-Jet sustainable aviation fuel project that would produce around 200,000 tonnes a year by the early 2030s. The goal is to cut Stanlow's emissions by up to 95% by the 2030s. Essar has already invested around £1 billion in the refinery since buying it from Shell in 2011 and says emissions are down 22%. The remaining reductions depend on hydrogen supply, carbon capture and storage infrastructure, electrification, and government support mechanisms. The CEO flags policy and regulatory uncertainty around hydrogen revenue support and carbon storage as key risks to the timeline.
