Phase 1 of the project would involve building a hydrogen re-fuelling facility for buses, cars, vans and trucks, powered by a solar farm and linked by an underground solar grid connection.

The renewable energy produced by the solar farm will be used to produce green hydrogen via a process called electrolysis which splits water molecules (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2).

The solar farm and hydrogen facility will be on separate sites but linked by an underground solar grid connection. The hydrogen site has a substation grid connection to power it in periods of low solar power production, while excess power can be returned to the grid when high solar power is generated.

The green hydrogen and vehicle refuelling facility are proposed to be positioned at Hareness Road. The solar farm would be located at the former Ness Landfill site to the west of the Coast Road.

The current project ambition for phase 1 is to have the facility producing hydrogen from 2025.

Future phases could see production scaled up through further investment to supply larger volumes of green hydrogen for rail, freight and marine, as well as supply of hydrogen for heat and potentially export.

A planning application for the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub was submitted in March 2023 and planning permission was granted at the end of June 2023.