EnergyPathways has submitted an application for a gas storage licence for its proposed Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) project in the Irish Baltic Sea, UK.

The application covers an offshore area which includes the Company’s 100% owned Marram gas field.

The planned MESH energy storage power plant, 17.7 kilometers off the coast of Lancashire in northwest England, could reliably supply the British market with natural gas and green hydrogen for at least 20 years, according to the company. The estimated underground geostorage capacity is around 50 billion cubic feet of gas.

This would be equivalent in size to Centrica’s Rough storage facility in the southern North Sea, currently the largest facility in the UK.

Several large engineering and energy companies interested in participating in MESH have submitted letters of support for the application, which are being reviewed by the North Sea Transition Authority.

EnergyPathways intends to advance negotiations with these companies in the coming months.

The MESH plant was designed as a fully decarbonised and electrified zero-emission plant that would be powered by the Irish Sea region’s renewable energy wind farms, avoiding emissions from venting and flaring.

In the longer term, MESH could use the UK’s surplus wind energy to produce and store green hydrogen. There are 7-8 GW of existing and planned offshore wind farms nearby, reusable gas pipelines and infrastructure, and planned carbon capture and storage projects.

Analysis suggests the project’s geostorage would offer high delivery rates, enabling it to meet the UK’s increasingly erratic energy needs.

If the licence application is successful, it would be integrated into the development plan for the Marram Project prior to FID.