Consultants to produce a report exploring aspects of future hydrogen infrastructure in Scotland

Tender description

Crown Estate Scotland is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified consultancy to produce a report exploring different commercial models for the future development of strategic hydrogen infrastructure in and around Scottish waters. The audience will be policy makers in the public sector, as well as wider industry partners. We expect to make at least part of the work produced publicly available. A study structured around the following elements. 1. A review and summary of potential strategic offshore infrastructure (pipelines, export terminals/jetties, transfer points from transmission/distribution, injection points) needed for hydrogen transport in Scotland. This includes connections either to domestic supply networks, storage, or for international export, and should take into account the latest information available on planned offshore renewable energy generation (location, capacity and timescales). This should include discussions with relevant UK stakeholders and draw on relevant reports and projects. 2. Building on the review undertaken in part 1 above, bidders should analyse and justify anticipated CapEx, OpEx ranges, and evaluate potential commercial models for the financing, ownership, and operation of offshore infrastructure for hydrogen transport considering ownership by a single entity (e.g. a public sector organisation, or a private enterprise) or shared ownership. This should include, but not be limited to: a. An outline of current regulatory frameworks (economic and non-economic) and any potential reforms relevant to the development of offshore infrastructure for hydrogen transport. b. A review of relevant international case studies and the involvement of, and governance arrangements between, private and public institutions in the delivery of offshore infrastructure for hydrogen transport. c. A comparison with other relevant subsea infrastructure, such as delivery models for shared electricity transmission cables or gas pipelines. d. A presentation of credible commercial (funding and ownership) models for offshore infrastructure for hydrogen transport in Scotland 3. Recommendations to Crown Estate Scotland and public sector partners. These should include: a. clear conclusions on the range of available approaches to deliver strategic infrastructure for hydrogen transport in Scotland, b. recommendations on the different commercial options considered in part 2, and c. recommendations for next steps which the public sector should consider, along with suggested timescales and priorities. Must have project completed with all outputs delivered by the end of April 2023. Project is expected to take around 12 weeks excluding mobilisation.