Connect with us
Friday,25-April-2025
Breaking News

Business

Essar sets up Vertex Hydrogen to help drive energy transition in UK

Published

on

Essar has formed Vertex Hydrogen Limited, a transformative new joint venture, with Progressive Energy, to build the UKs largest hydrogen hub at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.

Led by Essar as the majority shareholder, Vertex Hydrogen has been formed to provide the catalyst for development of a hydrogen economy across North West England and North Wales, as a central part of the HyNet decarbonisation cluster.

This initiative is a core part of a wider strategy by Essar globally to focus on investing in energy transition through the transformation of existing portfolio companies, and investments in new ventures.

Providing low carbon hydrogen across North West England and North Wales

The UK’s first low carbon hydrogen facility at Essar Stanlow will sit at the heart of the HyNet low carbon cluster, to produce a total of 1GW per year of hydrogen, across two units, from 2026. This is equivalent to the domestic heating energy used by a major British city region, such as Liverpool.

Waste fuel gases from Essar Stanlow, and natural gas, will be converted by Vertex Hydrogen into hydrogen, with carbon dioxide safely captured and stored by HyNet partner Eni SpA, underground offshore in Liverpool Bay. The hydrogen production hub will provide low carbon energy to replace fossil fuels in industry across the HyNet region, as well as heating homes, and fuelling buses, trains and trucks.

A total investment of approximately 1 billion pounds will be committed to deliver the hydrogen production hub.

The hydrogen produced will, in the first instance, be utilised by Essar to reduce its carbon footprint at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex. In addition, Vertex will also provide low carbon hydrogen to a wide range of businesses, including companies from the chemicals, ceramics, paper, glass and flexible power generation sectors, such as Tata Chemicals Europe, Encirc, InterGen, Solvay, Ingevity, Novelis, Glass Futures and Saica Paper, all having expressed interest already. More widely in the region, companies such as Pilkington are demonstrating use of hydrogen in their facilities. Cadent Gas Ltd is also developing the UK’s first multi-user hydrogen distribution network within HyNet.

Prashant Ruia, Essar Chairman, said: “Essar is massively committed to investing in energy transition and is building a portfolio of companies in this space. Vertex Hydrogen is a central component of that vision, which will be instrumental in helping create a hydrogen future for North West England and North East Wales. This will see over 1 billion pounds of investment, thereby creating jobs and supporting local communities for decades to come.”

Deepak Maheshwari, Essar Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Vertex Hydrogen is a critical investment for Essar in helping it achieve its vision of becoming the UK’s first low carbon refinery and supplying UK markets with the sustainable fuels of the future.”

Chris Manson-Whitton, Director at Progressive Energy, explained: “As the founding developer of HyNet, we see the launch of Vertex Hydrogen as a key milestone. Vertex is central to unlocking the low carbon hydrogen economy, reducing emissions, creating a cleaner world for future generations whilst creating and safeguarding jobs.”

In November 2020, the UK government published its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, providing a roadmap to driving innovation, boosting export opportunities, and generating green jobs and economic growth across the country to level up regions.

As part of the plan, government committed to deploy Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) in two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s, with a further two clusters coming on-line by 2030. The successful deployment of CCUS is critical to meeting the UK’s net zero goals and remains crucial for industrial decarbonisation, low carbon power, engineered greenhouse gas removal technologies and delivering the government’s 5GW by 2030 low carbon hydrogen production ambition.

Vertex Hydrogen was launched in January 2022. A joint venture between Essar Oil UK (90 per cent) and Progressive Energy Ltd (10 per cent), Vertex will deliver the UK’s first low carbon hydrogen production plant to lead the country’s hydrogen production economy. Using Johnson Matthey’s Low Carbon Hydrogen (LCHTM) technology, the hydrogen production plant will sit at the heart of HyNet North West, the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation cluster. HyNet will deploy a combination of low carbon hydrogen, distributed by Cadent Gas Ltd, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure, provided by ENI, to decarbonise industry, transport and transform how we heat our homes across North West England and North East Wales.

National

Big relief for Kunal Kamra as Bombay HC grants protection from arrest

Published

on

Mumbai, April 25: In a major relief for stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Bombay High Court on Friday granted him protection from arrest in connection with an FIR lodged over his satirical video and his controversial “gaddar” (traitor) remark aimed at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The court directed the Mumbai Police not to take any coercive action against Kamra, who is currently residing in Chennai.

The FIR had been filed following the circulation of a video in which Kamra allegedly mocked Shinde and referred to him as a “gaddar,” sparking outrage among the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) supporters.

While restraining the police from arresting the comedian, the court, however, allowed investigators to proceed with their inquiry.

It permitted the Mumbai Police to travel to Chennai to question Kamra, with the assistance of the local police.

The court said if the police file a charge sheet, the trial court should not proceed till the High Court decides the quashing petition filed by Kamra.

Kamra had filed a plea before the High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against him.

Earlier on April 16, the High Court had granted him interim bail, which has now been made regular.

The FIR was filed at Khar police station following a complaint by Shiv Sena legislator Muraji Patel after Kamra, during a performance of his stand-up show Naya Bharat, allegedly referred to Shinde as a ‘gaddar’.

Kamra was initially granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court before he moved the Bombay High Court to seek quashing of the FIR and grant of regular bail.

The remark was purported as a reference to Shinde’s political defection from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to join hands with the BJP, which led to a dramatic split in the party and the rise of a new ruling coalition MahaYuti.

Continue Reading

Business

Demand for homes priced Rs 1 crore and above boosts market in India: Report

Published

on

Mumbai, April 24: The demand for homes prices Rs 1 crore and above bolstered the Indian property market in the first quarter this year, preventing overall sales of 65,250 units from hard landing, a report said on Thursday.

Residential sales in Q1 2025 (January-March) experienced only a modest decline and added up to 65,246 units. This limited drop was primarily due to robust demand in the Rs 3-5 crore and Rs 1.5-3.0 crore segments, which helped counterbalance the slowdown in relatively affordable housing, according to a JLL report.

The steady growth in higher ticket size homes indicates increasing affluence among homebuyers, changing lifestyle preferences and buyers prioritising larger and premium properties.

According to the report, housing sales in India’s top seven cities continued to be dominated by Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune, which collectively accounted for 66 per cent of Q1 sales.

High concentration of MNCs and startups creating significant employment opportunities and ongoing infrastructure improvements make these cities increasingly attractive places to live and work.

It is interesting to note that over the last few quarters a significant share of quarterly sales volume has been contributed by projects launched during the same quarter.

Q1 2025 was no exception, with around one-fourth of its sales being contributed by quarterly new launches. Launches by reputed developers with assurance of timely delivery and steady price appreciation, are driving the trend, the report informed.

“The residential real estate market is showing signs of a shift in buyer preferences with lowering of demand for less than Rs 1 crore housing and a growing affinity for mid to high-end properties. This as well suggests a potential upward movement in the overall market dynamics,” said Dr Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research and REIS, India, JLL.

“This upswing in the higher-priced segment demand has shielded the overall housing sales from a sharper decline,” Das added.

Developers are focusing more on mid to high-end projects to align with current demand patterns. High-end housing sector experienced a steady upswing with 107 per cent year-on-year growth in launches of properties priced at Rs 1 crore and above, driven by strong sales in this segment.

Growth in launches despite economic uncertainties signals robust developer confidence in high-end housing demand, said the report, adding that 2025 is poised for robust growth in the residential sector demand.

Continue Reading

Business

GreenLine flags off LNG truck fleet for Bekaert to drive sustainable logistics

Published

on

Mumbai, April 24: GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd., an Essar venture and India’s only green logistics operator of LNG and electric-powered heavy commercial trucks, has partnered with Bekaert, a global leader in tire reinforcement technology, to decarbonise road logistics and support India’s vision of a gas-based economy.

The partnership was flagged off with the deployment of GreenLine’s LNG-powered trucks at Bekaert’s Ranjangaon Plant, marking the beginning of a pilot phase that aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of Bekaert’s logistics operations.

Each GreenLine LNG truck is expected to reduce up to 24 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, contributing to Bekaert’s ambition of becoming carbon net-zero by 2050 and achieving 65 per cent of sales from sustainable solutions.

Commenting on the partnership, Anand Mimani, CEO, GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd, said, “Our partnership with Bekaert demonstrates the growing commitment of forward-thinking corporates to drive sustainability at scale. At GreenLine, we are proud to offer not just green trucks, but an integrated ecosystem — from LNG refuelling to real-time telematics — that empowers our partners to make meaningful progress on their net-zero goals.”

Dinesh Mukhedkar, Procurement Operations Lead — South Asia and Procurement Global Shared Service Centre Lead, Bekaert, added, “As part of our purpose ‘Establishing the new possible,’ and our ambition to lead in safe, smart, and sustainable solutions, decarbonising logistics is an essential step. This directly supports our commitment to ESG principles and long-term sustainability goals.”

GreenLine’s expanding fleet of LNG-powered trucks has already clocked more than 40 million km, avoiding over 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The company’s ongoing expansion includes plans to deploy over 10,000 LNG and EV trucks, supported by a nationwide network of 100 LNG refuelling stations, EV charging hubs, and battery swapping facilities — targeting a reduction of 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Continue Reading

Trending