EnergyPathways’ wholly owned subsidiary, EnergyPathways Irish Sea Limited, has been granted a Gas Storage Licence (GSL) by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in connection with its hydrogen-ready MESH project.
This decision marks a major milestone for the company’s plans to develop the wider MESH Project, located in the East Irish Sea and onshore in Barrow-in-Furness. MESH is expected to be Britain’s largest integrated energy storage facility. The natural gas storage facility is planned to double Britain’s gas storage capacity, providing approximately 15 million m3 per day. The plant will also include low-cost hydrogen production capability that can be used to decarbonise the energy provided by MESH and to power local sustainable industries.
The GSL spans a substantial offshore area that could support the construction of up to 60 large-scale salt storage caverns with potential for multi-terawatt-hour scale energy storage, subject to the necessary consents and financing.
Ben Clube, CEO of EnergyPathways, comments: ‘I am delighted that we have met the NSTA’s criteria to offer EnergyPathways this crucial Gas Storage Licence, one of only a handful of energy licence awards in the last two years. The current Middle East crisis serves as a stark reminder of Britain’s limited energy storage capacity that leaves it vulnerable to global supply shocks and the resulting impact of higher energy bills. The UK Government recognises MESH and other forms of long duration energy storage as having a vital role in lowering energy prices, bolstering energy security and achieving a clean energy system. With the award of this licence EnergyPathways will now move at pace to get to FID as quickly as possible. Both the gas storage and CAES storage will each be commercially viable in their own right, however there are several synergies and cost efficiencies between the two projects that can now be secured. I look forward to working closely with our team and our partners in the months ahead and will continue to update shareholders as milestones are achieved.’
