Aberdeen: A global energy hub

Aberdeen has a long and proud history in the global energy industry. While the North Sea remains a key player in the oil and gas sector, the region is also investing heavily in net zero technology, building low carbon infrastructure and supporting a just transition to net zero by reskilling and upskilling the regional workforce.

As the energy industry has evolved, Aberdeen has developed a reliable supply chain and is now one of the most attractive locations in Europe to develop and accelerate low carbon projects and activities.

Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to support the development and operations of Scotland’s rapidly growing offshore wind sector. Crown Estate Scotland recently awarded ScotWind and INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas) licensing to offshore wind projects in the region. ScotWind projects include fixed and floating fields with a total capacity of 27.6GW. Three-quarters of the fields are within 100 nautical miles of Aberdeen and a number of the licence holders have already committed to locating significant offshore wind operation centres in the region.

Onshore, the Energy Transition Zone is located next to Port of Aberdeen’s new South Harbour. Founded in 2021, ETZ Ltd is a private sector-led, not-for-profit company. ETZ was created to drive forward the vision of transforming the North East to become a global leader in energy transition activities, as well as a net exporter of energy transition technologies and skills. At the core of ETZ Ltd is the ambition to deliver the Energy Transition Zone, a purpose-built net zero green space connected to the North Sea coastline. The 250-hectare site will be a leading-edge catalyst for innovation and high value manufacturing, a centre of excellence for offshore floating wind farm technology, and other offshore renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

The Aberdeen City Region embarked on its hydrogen journey more than ten years ago and has already demonstrated how demand can be created within cities, using the zero emission fuel to power a fleet of 25 buses, 60 public sector vehicles and waste trucks, as well as designing hydrogen use into the P&J Live events complex energy centre.

The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub sits within Aberdeen City Council’s H2 Aberdeen initiative, which aims to grow a hydrogen economy in the Aberdeen City Region. H2 Aberdeen seeks to stimulate innovative hydrogen projects and advance the take-up of hydrogen technologies in the city. The overall aim is to position Aberdeen as a centre of excellence for hydrogen technology by utilising the transferable oil and gas expertise and harness the exceptional capacity for renewable power generation in North East Scotland.