MULTI-million pound plans are moving ahead to create a major gas storage facility on Portland.

The bold vision involves constructing vast new salt caverns beneath the former naval base at Portland Port in order to store hydrogen.

Hydrogen is set to play an important role as the country moves towards cutting carbon emissions and net zero. Such gas reserves could be utilised as a back up for other forms of renewable energy.

Portland Port has been working with prospective developers to realize the opportunity of such a facility ever since a proposal was put forward by Portland Gas. That scheme was granted planning permission by Dorset County Council in 2008 but never progressed.

The Echo reported in 2022 that UK Energy Storage (UKEn) - a subsidiary of UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG's) - was now progressing a new 'energy hub' scheme.

Read more: Plan for major gas storage facility on Portland

The scheme has now received a boost in a letter of support from energy company SGN, the operator of a planned hydrogen pipeline in the south of England.

SGN's Regional Development Manager Graham Cox said: "We believe hydrogen has a key role in decarbonising the national energy system and support UKEn's proposed hydrogen storage facility in Dorset.

"This project has the potential to store 3TWh* of hydrogen in subsurface constructed salt caverns and is essential to decarbonising the Solent Cluster and Southern England. This hydrogen storage will provide inter-seasonal capacity, security of supply and pipeline stability for our proposed development of hydrogen pipelines in the region.

"It will enable the end use of hydrogen across industry, heating and transport, help meet growing regional energy demand, and support the transition to net zero emissions."

UKEn says this is a "further key step" for the company's planned application for government funding support as successful applicants must not only identify potential storage users but must also demonstrate that its hydrogen storage is being developed in tandem with pipeline connections.

The company says it has completed an update of the original Portland Port salt cavern design basis and a conceptual design report has been finalised. A project cost estimate and financial model have been prepared.

The cost has not been disclosed but is understood to be hundreds of millions of pounds.

The initial construction of 19 new salt caverns would provide around one billion m³ of storage increasing the current UK onshore underground storage capacity by around 70%.

The caverns will be built 2,400 metres below ground level; each will be around the size of St Paul's Cathedral.

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A planned second phase, both in the adjacent offshore and onshore would add a further one billion m³ of storage.

In total, it would store 20% of the UK's hydrogen needed in 2035.

Salt caverns are made by the dissolution of rock salt using either fresh or salt water. In the case of Portland, UKEn intends to use seawater to dissolve the caverns. The rock salt deposits provide an ideal and safe storage medium for hydrogen.

A Portland Port spokesperson said: “There are plans for an underground hydrogen storage facility at the port, to support the UK’s transition to net zero emissions, from UK Energy Storage, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK Oil & Gas Plc.

"The port would have an enabling role in what would be a new UK-wide hydrogen grid, helping with energy security and decarbonisation in the UK.

"An underground gas storage facility on the Isle of Portland, utilising salt caverns, has been considered for many years.

"The one proposed would play an important part in the future of the UK’s hydrogen economy and help generate employment locally and through supply chains.”

UKOG has been approached for comment.