Essar sets out energy transition investment plan for UK, India

Indian energy and infrastructure investor Essar Group is launching an energy transition business, which plans to invest USD 3.6 billion (EUR 3.4bn) in low-carbon projects in the UK and India over the next five years.

Of the overall sum, USD 2.4 billion will be invested at the site of the company’s Stanlow refinery, located between Liverpool and Manchester, and USD 1.2 billion in India.

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According to an announcement on Monday, Essar Energy Transition (EET) will encompass EET Future Energy, which is developing 1 GW of green ammonia in India for the UK and global markets; Vertex Hydrogen, which is developing 1 GW of blue hydrogen in the UK with planned expansion; Essar Oil UK, the group’s refining and marketing business in North West England; Stanlow Terminals Ltd, which is developing facilitating storage and pipeline infrastructure; and EET Biofuels, which will be developing 1 million tonnes of low-carbon biofuels.

The company said the UK investment involves blue and green hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels for road transport and aviation and the decarbonisation of a UK refinery.

Essar’s Stanlow site is already part of the HyNet hydrogen cluster in the UK. Vertex Hydrogen is a joint venture between Essar and Progressive Energy.

The group says that by investing in forward-looking assets, it is repositioning for growth and resurgence.

According to Essar Capital director Prashant Ruia, EET could “provide a blueprint for how traditional industries globally can be successfully transformed into hubs for the production of future energies.”

(USD 1 = EUR 0.946)