EnergyPathways (AIM:EPP) has announced that it is fast-tracking development of its low-carbon hydrogen and graphite production facility at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, aiming to become revenue generative by 2029, with the possibility of an earlier start-up subject to design optimisation and supply chain management.
The London-listed energy transition company said commercialisation of this strand, which it calls Hydrogen Industries, does not depend on government commercial support and involves minimal regulatory process, unlike the other elements of its wider MESH development.
Hydrogen Industries forms the third pillar of EnergyPathways' Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH), alongside the long-duration energy storage (LDES) compressed air project and a natural gas and hydrogen storage scheme in the East Irish Sea, both already designated nationally significant infrastructure by the UK government.
The Barrow plant will use methane splitting technology supplied through the company's partners Hazer Group, working with KBR, and Finland's Hycamite TCD Technologies, cracking natural gas into low-carbon hydrogen while capturing the resulting carbon as solid graphite rather than releasing it as CO2.
EnergyPathways has previously set out plans for roughly 20,000 tonnes a year of hydrogen and 60,000 tonnes a year of graphite output from this element of MESH, with estimated capital costs of £120 million to £200 million and targeted annual EBITDA of £40 million to £60 million.
The company said it has identified a Barrow site capable of hosting a 20,000 tonne per annum plant, with room for future expansion, and is in negotiations to purchase it, while existing gas and power network connections at the site should allow faster development, with the company in direct dialogue over securing a prioritised grid connection.
EnergyPathways set out a two-phase graphite strategy: first establishing itself as a supplier into tyre manufacturing, metallurgical industries and the blending of graphite into concrete and asphalt, then moving up the value chain into higher-grade graphite suitable for electric vehicle batteries and other advanced applications.
"We have a real opportunity to accelerate this project and become revenue generative by 2029 if not earlier, underpinning the Company with strong cash flows at attractive EBITDA margins," said chief executive Ben Clube, adding that the company is progressing engagement with offtake clients and with strategic and private capital investors to fund the accelerated development.
The push comes weeks after EnergyPathways raised £1.75 million through a placing with a single institutional investor to accelerate MESH and fund working capital, following an April financing package worth £15 million, comprising a £5 million convertible loan and a £10 million at-the-market equity facility, to fund front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on the CAES storage element.
EnergyPathways reported a loss of £1.95 million for the six months to 30 June, up from £607,201 a year earlier and already exceeding the £1.66 million loss reported for the whole of 2025.
"Graphite is a critical mineral the UK cannot currently produce for itself, and our work shows strong demand across multiple grades," Clube said, adding that the company's focus is on locking in offtake, completing engineering and securing funding "to deliver early cash flow for MESH and long-term investment for Barrow."
