Essar Oil UK (‘EOUK’), the leading UK-focused downstream energy company, announces plans to install a new £45 MM furnace at Stanlow that’s capable of using hydrogen as its fuel source – a UK first.

The announcement follows the launch of Vertex Hydrogen last month, a new Essar-led joint venture, in which the company will invest £1 B over the next five years to drive down emissions, including the development of new hydrogen production plants at Stanlow, forming a central part of the HyNet North West decarbonization cluster.

The scheme (which is subject to planning approval) comprises the decommissioning of three existing furnaces (which include a chimney of approximately 140 m in height) and their replacement with a single, highly efficient furnace, which includes a chimney of approximately 71 m in height.

The scheme will provide a number of improvements that will lead to benefits for Stanlow and the surrounding area, including lower carbon emissions due to gas-only firing and new burners that emit lower levels of NOx and futureproofing to enable the use of sustainable fuel types in the future such as hydrogen. The furnace is currently being fabricated in Thailand. The largest single module is 26.5 m long, by 18.5 m tall, by 14.5 m and the furnace will be delivered on site almost fully constructed.

The new furnace forms a key part of the company’s strategy to reduce its own carbon emissions. The furnace is unique in that it will have the capability to run entirely off hydrogen, becoming the first of its kind based at a UK refinery. It has an improved energy efficiency of 4% compared to existing furnaces, which will save 16,600 tpy of CO2, as well as reducing ongoing maintenance costs.

Set to be installed in 2022, the furnace will become fully operational next year. From 2026 onwards it will be fueled by hydrogen produced at Stanlow as part of the HyNet North West decarbonization cluster. Essar’s new joint venture, Vertex Hydrogen, will develop the world’s first and largest blue hydrogen production plant at Stanlow. Hydrogen will be used at the site and will be distributed to industrial businesses in the region to support their own transition to low carbon.