Centrica eyes Rough as world’s biggest hydrogen store

UK energy company in talks with government over £2bn plan to re-open natural gas storage site this winter and ultimately convert it to store hydrogen

Energy company Centrica is in “very encouraging” talks with the UK government over a £2bn ($2.4bn) proposal to restart the Rough offshore gas storage facility this winter and ultimately convert it into the world’s largest hydrogen storage sites, says CEO Chris O’Shea. Rough, a depleted gas field off England’s northeast coast that has been closed since 2017, has the potential to be a key enabler of the UK’s planned expansion of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity to 10GW by 2030, O’Shea told analysts on an interim earnings call. “We remain in active conversation with the UK government on the role this asset can play in the future of hydrogen, and we are very encouraged by the discussions,