EnergyPathways (AIM:EPP) announced it has entered a number of technical agreements granting it access to geotechnical data and analytical services to support development of the salt caverns at its Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) project in the East Irish Sea and at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The AIM-listed energy transition company said the agreements will deliver an indicative saving of more than £20m by removing the need for appraisal drilling or seismic acquisition to obtain the technical data required.
EnergyPathways will use the data for reprocessing, interpretation and analytical work to refine the geotechnical model of the salt sequence within its Gas Storage Licence GSL009, which the North Sea Transition Authority offered the company last month covering both natural gas and hydrogen storage.
That model is intended to underpin a financial bankability certification for salt cavern construction, targeted for completion in the first half of 2027, which the company says will support its pathway to infrastructure debt financing for cavern construction.
EnergyPathways described the salt sequence within its licence as 500 to 600 metres thick, with very low insoluble content, high geomechanical strength, optimal depth for pressure management, and an offshore location suited to low-cost brine dispersal.
The works will also satisfy a significant part of the company's Gas Storage Licence obligations.
"By working with an existing, high-quality data suite rather than drilling additional appraisal wells or acquiring new seismic data, we expect to save more than £20 million and move more rapidly towards bankability certification, which is a critical aspect of accessing debt financing," said Ben Clube, chief executive of EnergyPathways.
Read more about EnergyPathways
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- 17/09/26EnergyPathways signs Hycamite deal for graphite plant
- 13/05/26EnergyPathways and ABP to assess Port of Barrow for MESH onshore facilities
The agreement follows a string of MESH milestones this year, including the appointment of Jacobs as engineering and regulatory partner, a patent filing for the project's compressed-air thermal storage technology, and a collaboration agreement with Hycamite TCD Technologies on graphite and hydrogen production methods.
EnergyPathways has estimated the long-duration energy storage element of MESH alone could require £450m to £500m of capital expenditure, as it works toward a targeted final investment decision in 2028.
