BP has pulled out of building a hydrogen plant on Teesside following a debate over whether the site would be better suited to housing a data centre. A government decision on whether the plant at Teesworks in Redcar could be built had been due this week. The energy firm backed out before the decision could be made, citing a ‘material change in circumstances’ to the land that the plant had been due to be built on.
The project, H2Teesside, had been mired in controversy after landowners South Tees Group (STG) sought permission to build a data centre there instead. STG has been approached for comment. BP said the data centre planning application had been part of the ‘material change in circumstances’ the land had faced.
A spokesperson for the project says: ‘We continue to move forward with other projects on Teesside, including our investments in Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership, and remain an active partner in the region.’ BP began the application process for a development consent order (DCO), which is required for nationally significant infrastructure projects, in March 2024. If the government had granted the firm a DCO on Thursday, it would have been given the power to compulsorily purchase the land it needs.
Teesworks, which is part of STG, had attacked the plans and in August received planning permission from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to build a giant AI data centre there instead. In a letter detailing its opposition to BP’s plans, STG claimed the proposed data centre was of “critical national importance”. BP previously said it was willing to have discussions aimed at finding a solution “that would enable both developments to co-exist”. Previously, it had said the development would have had a ‘peak construction workforce of 1,300 jobs’.
