India's Essar Group plans to invest 4.3 billion pounds sterling to transform its UK-based Stanlow refinery into an energy transition hub centered on low-carbon hydrogen production, according to a statement released on Monday.
Of the total, an investment of more than 1 billion pounds is nearing final investment decision, the statement said.
Essar Energy Transition Fuels, a unit of Essar Group, operates the Stanlow refinery and is now looking to expand its fuel supply presence to 800 new retail locations across the UK.
The company is also actively exploring more expansion opportunities on its site, including hosting commercial data centers on the Stanlow plot, powered directly by onsite hydrogen-ready generation.
Essar acquired Stanlow in 2011 and has invested over 1 billion pounds over the past 15 years to upgrade its operations. Recently, Essar Energy Transition completed a 100 million-pound refinery turnaround, increasing throughput by approximately 8%.