- UK’s-first hydrogen-ready furnace replacing three existing furnaces at Stanlow commissioned – reducing CO2 emissions by c. 16,600 tonnes per annum while using refinery off gas
- Full fuel switching to EET Hydrogen’s low-carbon hydrogen (planned for 2028) will deliver CO2 savings of c.200,000 tonnes per annum
- The installation contributes to EET Fuels’ ambition to eliminate 95% (around 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year) of its carbon emissions by 2030
Stanlow, UK, 30 April 2025 – EET Fuels (the trading name of Essar Oil (UK) Ltd), which plans to create the world’s leading low carbon process refinery, has successfully completed the installation and connection of its new hydrogen-ready furnace to the refinery system at its Stanlow site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
Following delivery at the Stanlow site in August 2022, the hydrogen-ready furnace is now fully operational and will be capable of running on 100% refinery off gas (ROG), a blend of ROG and hydrogen fuel, or 100% hydrogen. The furnace will be conventionally fuelled until 2028 when it will transition to using 100% low-carbon hydrogen, produced by EET Hydrogen’s HPP1 plant. HPP1 is the UK’s first large scale low carbon hydrogen production plant, located at the heart of the HyNet decarbonisation cluster and will be connected to the Liverpool Bay CO2 transport and storage system which reached financial close last week.
Installation of the hydrogen-ready furnace significantly progresses EET Fuels’ ambition to eliminate 95% (around 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year) of its carbon emissions by 2030. It will improve the Stanlow site’s air quality, significantly reducing NOX emissions, and its energy efficiency, reducing the refinery’s annual CO2 emissions by c.16,600 tonnes when using conventional ROG fuel, and c.200,000 tons when fuelled by low-carbon hydrogen.
The new furnace consumes around 10% of Stanlow refinery’s total energy usage and will replace three existing furnaces. Refinery furnaces are critical for heating crude oil and other feedstocks to separate and purify the crude to produce different products.
Deepak Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer at EET Fuels, said:
“Decommissioning three old furnaces and connecting this new highly efficient hydrogen-ready furnace to our refinery is a significant milestone for EET Fuels. Not only will the new furnace deliver an immediate reduction in CO2 emissions, it will deliver an even bigger reduction once fully powered with low carbon hydrogen. It’s a major milestone in the delivery on our decarbonisation strategy.”
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Media contacts
Michelle Lewis, Chief Communications Officer, Essar Energy Transition:
michelle.lewis@eetfuels.co.uk / 07805 854169
Peter Ogden, Sodali & Co:
peter.ogden@sodali.com / 07793 858211
About EET Fuels
EET Fuels is committed to playing a key role in the decarbonisation of the UK economy, with ambitious plans to build an energy transition cluster in the North West of England.
EET Fuels is transforming for tomorrow and is committed to becoming the UK’s first low-carbon refinery. It is investing US$1.2bn over the next five years to decarbonise its operations and targeting a 95% cut in emissions by 2030 through energy efficiency, carbon capture and fuel switching. This will deliver a 12.5% reduction the North West’s overall regional carbon emissions.
Industrial carbon capture will deliver an annual emissions reduction of ~1 million tonnes of CO2 and hydrogen fuel switching from natural gas to EET Hydrogen’s low carbon hydrogen as a fuel source will deliver an additional annual emissions reduction of ~1 million tonnes of CO2.
At the heart of HyNet, the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation cluster, this investment ensures the sustainability of this critical national asset, supporting high value employment and UK energy security resilience. www.eetfuels.com