Prashant Ruia’s hydrogen venture: UK’s first zero-emissions refinery is being formed

Indian billionaire Prashant Ruia is building the UK’s first zero-emissions oil refinery on the banks of the River Mersey. This is an ambitious project that runs entirely on hydrogen. Looking at the UK’s second largest oil refinery, Stanlow, in the North West, Ruia explained in an interview with The Sunday Times: “We are going to decarbonise the industry across the North West.”

Ruia’s family business, Essar Group, acquired the Stanlow refinery from Shell in 2011 and has since invested $1 billion in refurbishment of the plant. While aging infrastructure—rusting pipes, disused distillation columns—testifies to the refinery’s century-old history, shiny new designs powered by hydrogen now signal a future-proof transformation.

The hydrogen refinery is just the beginning. Through its Energy Transition (EET) unit, Essar plans to further invest in clean energy, with a new 350-megawatt hydrogen plant already under development. This could be followed by the construction of a second hydrogen production plant, with excess gas pumped through pipelines to neighboring plants to support their decarbonization. Ruia highlighted the UK government’s support for these efforts, citing Downing Street’s recent pledge to commit £21.7 billion to clean energy clusters. “These are major projects of this scale in the world,” he said, praising the UK’s leadership in tackling climate change.

The Essar boss also spoke about the refinery’s difficulties during the pandemic, with Stanlow facing severe financial pressure due to falling fuel demand, leading to scrutiny of a £356m deferred VAT bill. Although auditor Essar Deloitte and law firm Freshfields cut ties with the business, Ruia described the company’s resilience during the crisis, saying: “We retained all our staff and paid everyone to the end.”

Now Stanlow’s pivot to clean energy is at the center of Essar’s strategic shift. Ruia outlined the financial challenges facing the family firm, explaining that asset sales in recent years had allowed Essar to finance its ambitious environmental initiatives. “It was difficult to let go of the assets we had built, but it allowed us to make these investments now,” he said.

Even though Essar has deep roots in fossil fuels, Ruia confirmed that his family fully supports the group’s environmental shift. Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said: “It may have taken my father and uncle a while to see the vision, but they are now 200 per cent behind it. It happens, it’s not just an idea.”