Equinor, SSE to acquire Triton Power to prop up low-carbon H2 plans

Norway’s Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and SSE Plc (LON:SSE) have agreed to acquire UK-based power producer Triton Power Holdings Ltd from infrastructure investor Energy Capital Partners in a deal that strengthens their existing cooperation on low-carbon hydrogen projects in the UK.

The GBP-341-million (USD 414.7m/EUR 394.1m) transaction includes the acquisition of Triton’s three conventional gas turbine plants in England and Wales, the crown jewel of them being the 1.2-GW Saltend Power Station in East Yorkshire.

The Saltend station figures in Equinor’s project to produce blue hydrogen at Saltend Chemicals Park near the city of Hull and help decarbonise the local industry. The plan includes building a 600-MW auto thermal reformer with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the Park and transforming the power station to use a 30% hydrogen blend from 2027, and 100% hydrogen in the future. If all goes as proposed, the Saltend plant would become the primary off-taker of the H2H Saltend hydrogen project, Equinor and SSE said.

SSE is in the Triton Power deal through its unit SSE Thermal, and will pay half of the acquisition price. Following the close, the UK utility and its Norwegian partner will run Triton Power through a 50:50 joint venture.

The transaction hinges on the approval from the UK National Security Filing and EU Merger Control and could close in September.

SSE Thermal and Equinor plan to use the Triton Power portfolio as a platform to develop more low-carbon projects in the UK, having already paired on a number of power, natural gas, hydrogen and CCS projects in England and Scotland.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.216/EUR 1.156)

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