The development process
The H2East Pipeline: Humber to Nottinghamshire is anticipated to be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
NSIPs are consented through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process which aligns with the Planning Act 2008.
The Planning Inspectorate will carry out an examination of our proposals and will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on whether or not to grant consent for our proposals.
Although local planning authorities don’t make the final decisions on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, they still play a vital part in the process. The local authorities provide feedback, highlight potential impacts, and share important evidence that supports the Planning Inspectorate’s examination.
We anticipate that the development process from start, through DCO submission, examination and then decision will take between four to five years.
Before submitting the DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate, we develop the project’s proposals and undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA). A key part of this is engagement with stakeholders and consultation with the public.
A DCO application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.
The Planning Inspectorate has up to 28 days to review the application and decide whether to accept it for examination.
Following acceptance, the public and stakeholders can register with the Planning Inspectorate as Interested Parties by submitting relevant representations.
The Planning Inspectorate will appoint an Examining Authority to evaluate the proposal, and the Interested Parties will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting, chaired by the Examining Authority.
The Examination of the application will include invitations for Interested Parties to elaborate on their views, involving public hearings for a period of a maximum of six months.
The Planning Inspectorate will provide a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero who then has three months to make the final decision on granting the DCO.
How we developed our proposals
The identification of a route corridor for the H2East Pipeline: Humber to Nottinghamshire began with a review of confirmed and potential hydrogen production sites along with the industries that could benefit from being connected to a supply of hydrogen.
In our early work to develop the route corridor, we identified three production areas across the East Midlands distribution area:
- Immingham, in the Humber area in North Lincolnshire
- High Marnham, in Nottinghamshire
- Ratcliffe, south west of Nottingham
And the areas where industries could use hydrogen across this region were identified as including:
- North Lincolnshire towns of Immingham, Grimsby and Scunthorpe;
- South Yorkshire towns of Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley, and the city of Sheffield;
- The cities of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester; and
- Some more dispersed potential users of hydrogen in Nottinghamshire (e.g. Newark and Mansfield) and Derbyshire (e.g. Chesterfield)
This work to identify hydrogen production and potential usage areas led to the development of four strategic options which were evaluated in detail.
- Option 1: Humber to Scunthorpe
- Option 2: Humber to South Yorkshire
- Option 3: Humber to Nottinghamshire
- Option 4: Nottingham, Derby and Leicester
Ultimately the option from Humber to Nottinghamshire (Option three) was taken forward as it connects to high levels of hydrogen demand from industrial users, is located near to hydrogen production and offers better opportunities for future expansion across Cadent’s network. This option is also not located near to highly sensitivity environmental designations such as international conservation designations.
A route corridor appraisal was then undertaken to move from a single preferred strategic option to a set of broad corridors that could, at a later date, accommodate a potential pipeline. The purpose of this stage is to demonstrate that the preferred strategic option could be delivered in principle within corridor options, while maintaining flexibility for refinement in later stages.
What is a strategic option?
Strategic options are used to establish an outline route for the Project before moving into route corridor development. This early-stage work focuses on identifying broad corridors connecting hydrogen production sites with major industrial demand areas.
Different strategic options were evaluated to identify a preferred option within which a broad set of route corridors were identified.
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