An investment of £85,000,000 in a South Yorkshire factory is set to create 400 new technology jobs. Great British Energy, the publicly owned energy firm, and the government are funding a hydrogen project at ITM Power in Sheffield to expand the manufacturing of hydrogen technology in the UK.
ITM Power has been granted £40,000,000 from Great British Energy and an additional £46,500,000 government grant. The facility specialises in the production of electrolysers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This process generates green hydrogen, which is used to decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as aviation, shipping, and heavy industry.
The funding represents the largest single investment to date for Great British Energy. ITM Power has operated in Sheffield for more than 20 years and currently maintains two factories on Shepcote Lane.
Simon Bourne, Chief Technology Officer for ITM Power, said: “We’re in a growth phase right now and this commitment secures the existing jobs that we have of around 300 employees and over the next years, we expect around 400 new good, skilled local jobs to be created in this crucial emerging industry.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This investment is the government’s clean energy mission in action – rebuilding our energy security with clean homegrown power and good industrial jobs for South Yorkshire. Communities have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial jobs, and with these plans we answer that call, helping to create an economy in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job.”
Image source: ITM Power
