EnergyPathways (AIM:EPP), the AIM-listed energy transition company, has appointed Jacobs (NYSE:J) as strategic engineering and regulatory partner for its proposed long-duration energy storage (LDES) project in the Irish Sea and Barrow-in-Furness.
Jacobs will handle planning, consenting and environmental services for the project, known as MESH, including support for the Company's submission to Ofgem's forthcoming LDES Cap and Floor round.
MESH has been designated a project of national significance by the UK government and is targeting 300MW of capacity, 55 gigawatt-hours of storage and duration exceeding 100 hours, which EnergyPathways says would make it the UK's largest LDES scheme.
The Cap and Floor mechanism offers approved projects a revenue floor backed by sovereign guarantee, a structure intended to unlock both private debt and equity investment.
Following EnergyPathways' submission, the next milestone will be Ofgem's formal confirmation of MESH's eligibility for the scheme.
Jacobs' work will run alongside a parallel Development Consent Order submission, covering stakeholder engagement, grid connection applications and socio-economic assessments.
"Successful eligibility in the Cap and Floor scheme offers a sovereign revenue guarantee that will significantly de-risk MESH and make it a highly bankable infrastructure asset for both debt and equity financing," said Ben Clube, chief executive of EnergyPathways.
Jacobs Executive Vice President Richard Sanderson said the company's experience delivering infrastructure through the Development Consent Order process would help EnergyPathways navigate planning requirements "while maintaining project momentum".
Further updates are expected once Ofgem opens the next Cap and Floor round and EnergyPathways files its formal submission.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
EnergyPathways has secured Jacobs—a major engineering firm—to lead planning, consenting and regulatory work on MESH ahead of submission to Ofgem's LDES Cap and Floor funding round. The appointment signals concrete progress toward a key de-risking milestone: the Cap and Floor mechanism offers a sovereign-backed revenue floor intended to unlock debt and equity financing for the project, which the UK government has already designated nationally significant.
- Jacobs' involvement in the Development Consent Order process may accelerate planning timelines, reducing execution risk on the path to FID and commercial operation.
The Jacobs appointment and imminent Ofgem submission represent material steps toward unlocking the sovereign revenue guarantee that EnergyPathways says will make MESH 'highly bankable.' Success in the Cap and Floor round would materially de-risk the project's financing and move it closer to the 2028 FID and late 2031 commercial operation timeline.
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