Building the UK’s New Energies Hub for a Net Zero Future

Maritime Innovation Spotlight: Stanlow Terminals – Building the UK’s New Energies Hub for a Net Zero Future

Innovation at a Glance:

At the heart of the UK’s industrial and chemical corridor, Stanlow Terminals Ltd (STL) is redefining what a 21st-century energy terminal can be. From its strategic position on the Mersey Estuary, STL combines world-class logistics, deep-water access, and multi-modal connectivity to create a platform for energy transition at scale.

STL’s innovation lies not only in its vast 3 million cubic metre (cbm) bulk liquid storage capacity and its network of jetties, pipelines, and road gantries, but also in its vision for a ‘New Energies Hub’, a comprehensive set of infrastructure designed to accelerate decarbonisation through low-carbon fuels, CO₂ transport, and sustainable feedstocks. With major presence in Liverpool City Region, STL’s evolution is transforming an historic industrial asset into a cornerstone of the UK’s net zero future. An initiative which has been further boosted by the recent success in achieving project grant support from the LCR Freeport Innovation Challenge Fund. 

Harnessing Technology: for the Energy Transition

STL’s New Energies Hub will anchor five key pillars of clean-energy innovation:

1. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Establishing STL as the North-West hub for SAF import, blending, and distribution, as well as supporting domestic production exceeding 200 kilo tonnes per annum (ktpa).
2. Renewable Methanol: Creating capacity to handle up to 1 million tonnes per year, serving marine, industrial, and hydrogen-carrier markets.
3. CO₂ Non-Pipeline Transport (NPT): Developing new import infrastructure capable of receiving 1–7 million tonnes of CO₂ annually for permanent sequestration, enabling emitters without pipeline access to decarbonise.
4. Hydrogen Road Transport: Building the UK’s leading terminal for low-carbon hydrogen fuel distribution.
5. Green Ammonia: Establishing an open-access terminal for up to 2 million tonnes per year, with future plans for ammonia-to-hydrogen cracking.

These capabilities are enabled by STL’s extensive existing infrastructure, eight marine berths, 248 storage tanks (ranging between 150–100,000 cbm each), and pipeline links to the UK Oil Pipeline and Manchester Jetline systems, combined with Upper Tier Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) certification and the flexibility to serve global, national, and regional markets.

Collaborative Innovation in Action:

STL’s transformation is built on collaboration with industry and government.
Its CO₂ NPT Import Terminal Project, developed in partnership with engineering specialists , supports the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) vision. This initiative complements pipeline-based clusters by offering a decarbonisation route for “stranded emitters”, industries without direct pipeline access.

The project is structured in two phases:

• Phase 1 – Stanlow Manufacturing Complex: Canal-max vessels up to 8,800 Dead weight tonnage (DWT) will deliver 1–2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA of CO₂), stored and injected into nearby T&S networks.
• Phase 2 – Tranmere Terminal: Expansion to deep-water vessels (20,000 to 40,000 Dead weight tonnage DWT) handling 2–5 MTPA, supported by land reclamation and existing jetty modifications.

These developments are complemented by plans to improve connectivity between Tranmere and Stanlow, new storage facilities, and a potential new dedicated ‘New Energies’ dock, forming a resilient multi-modal import and export network across the Mersey.

Real-World Impact:

STL’s evolution supports not only the UK Net Zero Strategy but also pivotal regional economic growth by:

• Decarbonising industry through Non-Pipeline CO₂ transport for multi-sector emitters.
• Creating an estimated low-cost, low-risk CCUS hub leveraging existing assets and utilities.
• Generating new high-value green jobs in engineering, operations, and logistics.
• Strengthening the UK’s energy security through multi-fuel flexibility and cross-border CO₂ storage access (with over 25 MTPA capacity anticipated to be available in the North West alone).
• Positioning the Liverpool City Region and wider North West as a national centre for hydrogen and clean-fuel distribution.

Shaping the Future of Maritime:

STL’s New Energies Hub will be one of the most advanced integrated port-energy systems in Europe. Its combination of deep-water access, multimodal connectivity, and decarbonisation infrastructure provides a foundation for innovation in low-carbon fuels, renewable imports, and circular energy flows.

With strategic partnerships across the North West, including with STL sister companies Essar Energy Transition Fuels and Essar Energy Transition Hydrogen, and a growing ecosystem of technology developers, STL is demonstrating how industrial heritage can be reimagined as a sustainable maritime and energy gateway for generations to come, presenting a real opportunity for the Liverpool City Region to be recognised as a UK leading hub in decarbonisation activity.

About Navigating Maritime Innovation:

Mersey Maritime’s Navigating Maritime Innovation (NMI) programme champions pioneering organisations that are redefining the UK’s maritime future. By connecting innovators like Stanlow Terminals with cross-sector partners, investors, and policy frameworks, NMI accelerates the transition toward decarbonised, digital, and globally competitive maritime systems. To date the project has uncovered over £1 billion of innovation pipeline, alongside promising metrics on collaboration, sectoral focus, and productivity gains across the LCR maritime ecosystem. Our data collection period will close on 30 November 2025, so if your organisation is developing or interested in innovative processes, please do consider getting in touch

Want to get involved?

If your organisation is developing clean-energy technologies or seeking to collaborate on maritime decarbonisation projects, connect with Mersey Maritime’s NMI programme today.

Contact:
Paul Tallon, Maritime Innovation Manager

Paul.tallon@merseymaritime.co.uk or visit: https://merseymaritime.co.uk/innovation/

Figures:

Figure 1: Overview of Stanlow Terminals’ infrastructure at Tranmere and Stanlow and within the North West of England, including 270 acres of prime industrial land, 3 million cbm of tank storage, 8 vessel marine berths and Europe’s largest road terminal

Figure 2: Vision of Stanlow Terminals new energies infrastructure under development at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex located adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal

Figure 3: Vision of Stanlow Terminals new energies infrastructure under development at Tranmere located adjacent to the River Mersey, including the reclamation of adjacent foreshore land

Figure 3: Vision of Stanlow Terminals new energies road terminal to be located at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, including dedicated low-carbon hydrogen refuelling and distribution bays as well as facilities to support the import of liquid CO₂ and export of green ammonia and biogenic CO₂