Plans for UK’s first commercial-scale waste-to-hydrogen facility
28 April 2026
A £120m proposal for the UK’s first commercial-scale waste-to-hydrogen facility has been submitted for a site in Kent, with the development expected to produce low-carbon fuel from non-recyclable waste.
The application, brought forward by Hydrogen TE (Manston) Ltd, has been submitted to Kent County Council for a site at Manston. If approved, the facility would process around 44,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year, including household waste, commercial plastics, timber and decommissioned wind turbine blades.
The project is designed to produce as much as 8,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually, intended for industrial use as part of wider efforts to expand low-carbon energy supply.
Alongside hydrogen production, the facility would also capture carbon dioxide for commercial applications and produce inert aggregate for use in construction. The site has been designed so its outputs are reused within other sectors, aiming to reduce reliance on disposal of residual waste streams.
Planning and development consultancy Lichfields led the planning and environmental impact assessment work for the application. Rebecca Caines, senior director at Lichfields, comments:
“Submitting this application for HTE marks a major milestone and represents an exciting step forward for this pioneering project. This is the UK’s first commercial-scale waste-to-hydrogen facility, bringing together waste management and energy production in a single scheme.”
“Through the planning process, we have worked collaboratively to bring forward a proposal that demonstrates how non-recyclable waste can be managed more sustainably, while supporting the growth of the hydrogen sector and delivering investment, jobs and skills development.”
The development also includes plans for an on-site education and innovation centre focused on training and careers linked to hydrogen and renewable energy technologies.
Michael Engsted, MD at Hydrogen TE (Manston) Ltd, says:
“The Manston facility has been designed to operate at commercial scale, using non-recyclable waste as a consistent feedstock for hydrogen production. It is intended to create a new route for materials that would otherwise be disposed of, while generating low-carbon fuel for industrial use, alongside capturing carbon dioxide and producing construction-grade aggregate to maximise resource efficiency.”
