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Case Study

Consultation Towards a Future Grangemouth Hydrogen Hub

A strategic consultation engaging industry stakeholders to assess opportunities, challenges, and pathways for developing Grangemouth into a leading Scottish hydrogen hub.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Grangemouth Hydrogen Hub concept will help contribute to Scotland’s ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions. Grangemouth, with its significant industrial activity, economic impact and associated emissions, is at the heart of Scotland’s Just Transition to net zero. The goal is to transform its industrial sector which includes major chemicals, fuels, and logistics companies into a comprehensive hydrogen hub, thereby supporting Scotland’s shift towards a greener economy.

We were tasked with engaging the local industry and other Scottish hydrogen ecosystem stakeholders to understand current and upcoming activities linked to the development of the Grangemouth hydrogen hub.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

Identify current hydrogen-related activities in Grangemouth through stakeholder engagement and analysis, including plans and activities towards decarbonising industrial, transport, and heating sectors
Align Grangemouth’s hydrogen efforts with global trends in the hydrogen economy, reflecting the latest policies and technological developments
Develop a series of practical recommendations to support the ongoing development of the Grangemouth Hydrogen Hub

Identify current hydrogen-related activities in Grangemouth through stakeholder engagement and analysis, including plans and activities towards decarbonising industrial, transport, and heating sectors
Align Grangemouth’s hydrogen efforts with global trends in the hydrogen economy, reflecting the latest policies and technological developments
Develop a series of practical recommendations to support the ongoing development of the Grangemouth Hydrogen Hub




OUR APPROACH

Based on our deep understanding of the hydrogen ecosystem, we analysed Grangemouth’s existing capabilities and infrastructure, building on the baseline from the 2021 Wood Report and updating this information to reflect the latest hydrogen activities and policies in the region and nationally.

We compared Grangemouth with international hydrogen hubs to identify the cluster’s strengths and future support requirements. Then, through targeted stakeholder discussions, we identified potential synergies among current and planned hydrogen initiatives.

The study culminated in the development of a cohesive set of strategic recommendations to encourage the development of the Grangemouth Hydrogen Hub.

DELIVERY TEAM

Iain Weir
Senior Consultant
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Mark Morrison
Senior Consultant
About>
Jolanta Beinaroviča
Senior Consultant
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OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS

The Grangemouth industrial cluster is expected to lead in hydrogen production through steam methane/biomethane reforming. Currently, publicly known projects predominantly address self-supply, highlighting a gap in interaction between producers and end-users, unlike other Scottish hubs that typically seek to serve non-producing offtakers. In addition, steam (bio)methane reformed hydrogen production faces infrastructure challenges, notably in carbon dioxide capture and storage, with the Acorn CCUS project being crucial yet uncertain in its funding and development timeline. Industry uncertainty and the need for clearer hydrogen usage hierarchies are barriers to development and there is a need for decisive leadership to deliver clarity and plot a robust way forward.

Grangemouth’s potential as a hydrogen hub is limited by its current composition.  For success, it requires more end-user support to achieve fuel-switching and integration with Scotland’s wider hydrogen ecosystem. Electrolytic hydrogen production potential faces viability issues due to geographical and infrastructure constraints. There is an opportunity for Grangemouth to venture into e-fuel and sustainable aviation fuel production, especially if medium-term power demands are met.

Overall, it is concluded that there is a need to attract innovative business models and partnerships in the region that will help to capitalise on the existing infrastructure and unlock Grangemouth’s potential as a leading hydrogen hub.

"It was a pleasure to work with Optimat on the Grangemouth Hydrogen hub project. Optimat's deep industry understanding, and local knowledge helped to produce a clear synthesis of insights and identify opportunities and challenges for hydrogen in the Grangemouth cluster."

Joseph Mitchell
Scottish Enterprise

Iain Weir

Senior Consultant

I’m Iain Weir, formerly Managing Director of Optimat.  I joined Optimat in 1990 and now have over 35 years’ experience of strategy, innovation and economic development consultancy. I am now working part-time as a senior consultant as a stepping stone to retirement in the future.

During my time at Optimat, I’ve worked to support company growth, innovation and economic development across a range of sectors, and I enjoy working with clients to turn data and insight into meaningful action.  I’m proud to have had an integral role over that time in developing Optimat into an internationally recognised strategy consultancy.

One of my key areas of expertise is the development of the low carbon economy, a topic of increasing importance for today’s industries.  I think this is a challenging area for industry and the public sector to address as there can be several solutions offered to reduce carbon impacts, often without a strong evidence base to support their use. I enjoy pursuing an evidence-based analyses of these options to provide valuable insights to stakeholders.

Before joining Optimat, I worked in research and development in the electro-optic materials sector, developing and marketing innovative high-tech materials for a range of applications.  This industrial experience has strongly influenced my approach to assisting companies with their innovation activities.

I hold a BSc (1st class Hons) in Chemistry, a PhD in Chemistry, and an MBA.  I think this strong scientific background has enabled me to pursue an evidence-based and analytical approach to consultancy.

Mark Morrison

Senior Consultant

I’m Mark, a Senior Consultant at Optimat. I specialise in life sciences and sustainability, working closely with clients to help them understand new technology and market opportunities as well as workforce skills requirements to enable these to become reality.

I’ve been with Optimat since 2015 and worked with a range of public sector clients to deliver insightful market and sector analyses in subject areas including synthetic biology, chemical manufacturing, carbon capture utilisation and storage, medical devices, decarbonised transport, and renewable energy. I’ve also supported private sector clients to secure grant funding from Scottish, UK and European agencies, and have coordinated a number of European Commission funded projects.

Before joining Optimat I was the CEO of the Institute of Nanotechnology, a not-for-profit organisation that was instrumental in raising the profile and opportunities in nanotechnology for UK and European businesses. This provided me with first-hand experience of engaging and collaborating with a range of stakeholders in private, public and third sector organisations across Europe.

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Manchester.

Jolanta Beinaroviča

Senior Consultant

I’m Jolanta, a Senior Consultant at Optimat, where I specialise in the life sciences sector, including pharmaceuticals, industrial biotechnology, medical technology, and digital health. Iam particularly interested in how these fields are shaped and enabled by emerging technologies.

My work focuses on supporting clients across industry and public sector to make informed, strategic decisions. I am passionate about techno-market research and forecasting, and I draw on a strong foundation in science and technology to help clients identify opportunities and build a competitive advantage to deliver economic and societal benefits.

Since joining Optimat in 2022, I have contributed to a wide range of projects, including targeted market research studies, industrial sector profiling, capability audits, commercial opportunity mapping, commercialisation planning, and skills and workforce forecasting. I also have significant experience in due diligence, having evaluated numerous R&D grant proposals across various funding mechanisms. Alongside this, I have supported clients with programme design and undertaken several project and programme evaluations.

Before Optimat, I worked as an R&D scientist in several engineering biology spinouts and also gained experience as a casual academic and medical writer. This background has given me a strong analytical skillset and deep insight into early-stage technology transfer and commercialisation, which I now apply to help clients develop robust, evidence-informedstrategies towards achieving their goals.

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology & Biochemistry and a PhD in Synthetic Biology. I am currently pursuing an MBA (Technology Management), with the support of Optimat.