Sirius have been continuing to provide permitting expertise for the development of Protium’s new generation of Hydrogen Production Facilities, for roll out across the UK.

Sirius Environmental were appointed in 2025 by Protium, one of the UK’s leaders in green hydrogen solutions, to deliver an Environmental Permit for their facility, Pioneer 3 development, in Haverton Hill, Stockton on Tees, County Durham. We are extremely pleased to confirm that an Environmental Permit, issued by the Environment Agency, has been granted in March 2026 for the operation. This is the third Environmental Permit that Protium have secured to operate a Hydrogen Production Facility here in the UK, with Sirius securing two of these operating consents.

Supporting local manufacturing, industrial heat, and green transportation projects, the Haverton Hill development is a key addition expanding Protium’s network within this region of the UK. The first phase of the Haverton Hill project will house a 2.5MW rated Nel PEM Electrolyser producing 7000kg of green hydrogen every single week. Pioneer 3, once operational, is predicted to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 156,000 tonnes annually, the equivalent of removing in the region of 37,000 cars from UK roads per year.

In accordance with the Environmental Permitting Regulations, the production of green hydrogen is a ‘Part A (1) 4.2 (a)(i) inorganic chemicals activity’ in England and Wales. Therefore, Sirius was asked to obtain an Environmental Permit to allow for the development and subsequent operation of Pioneer 3’s Hydrogen Production Facility. Sirius Environmental identified that the first phase of the Hydrogen Production Facility was likely to qualify for the Standard Rules ‘Low Impact Part A Installation (LII) Permit’ as set out by the Environment Agency (EA) this would allow construction timelines to be accelerated, subject to the project receiving successful planning approval from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

This is the first phase of a two-phase development, with the eventual proposal for Pioneer 3 to have an operational capacity of 5MW. This will necessitate the variation of the Environmental Permit as issued, to allow for the additional processing capacity.

Photo: Protium, Pioneer 2, South Wales Facility