EnergyPathways is progressing with the Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH), an integrated offshore energy storage facility in the UK. The project aims to support the UK's transition to clean power by combining natural gas, hydrogen, and compressed air technologies to provide long-duration energy storage solutions. MESH is designed to contribute to national energy security by offering substantial storage capacity, equating to a significant portion of the UK's annual electricity demand.
The facility is situated approximately 11 miles offshore from Blackpool, in Block 110/4a of the East Irish Sea. The onshore component is based in Barrow-in-Furness, utilizing repurposed industrial land. This location enables integration with nearby offshore wind resources and access to regional hydrogen and gas infrastructure.
The project will have a total storage capacity of up to 20 terawatt-hours (TWh). This includes underground gas storage in a depleted gas field (Marram A) with a planned capacity of up to 17 TWh and additional hydrogen and compressed air storage in offshore salt caverns with a combined capacity of up to 2.8 TWh. The facility will have the capability to supply up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of dispatchable energy.
The initial phase will consist of low-emission indigenous gas production, followed by transition to hydrogen and compressed air energy storage (H-CAES). The project will include a 400 megawatt (MW) compressed air energy storage unit, operating at a projected efficiency of up to 70%.
The project is progressing through the necessary license and planning stages. EnergyPathways has submitted applications for relevant licenses and expects the initial phase of the gas storage project to be operational by 2028. Hydrogen and compressed air storage operations are planned to follow between 2028 and 2029. A final investment decision is anticipated in 2025.
EnergyPathways has engaged multiple UK-based offshore contractors for early-stage technical development. These include engineering partners supporting geoscience modeling and front-end engineering design. Specific contractor names for later stages have not yet been disclosed.
The UK plans to maintain a significant gas reserve capacity by 2030. MESH’s storage is positioned to support this requirement by reducing exposure to import dependency and global gas price volatility. When fully developed, MESH could become the UK’s largest gas storage facility.
MESH is compatible with future integration into the HyNet North West hydrogen network and Morecambe Net Zero carbon capture projects. A repurposed trunkline to Barrow and potential new pipeline infrastructure are planned to enable this connectivity.
The facility’s low-carbon flexible power generation capacity will begin with natural gas and transition to hydrogen over time. MESH is expected to provide up to 1.5 GW of flexible power using stored energy.