Prashant Ruia's hydrogen gamble: Britain's 1st emissions-free refinery takes shape

Indian billionaire Prashant Ruia is setting up the UK’s first emissions-free refinery on the banks of the River Mersey, an ambitious project powered entirely by hydrogen. Overlooking Britain’s second-largest oil refinery, Stanlow, in the North West, Ruia explained in an interview to The Sunday Times: “We are going to decarbonise the industry across the whole of the North West.”

Ruia’s family business, Essar Group, acquired the Stanlow refinery from Shell in 2011 and has since invested $1 billion in revamping the site. While the legacy infrastructure—rusted pipes, disused distillation columns—attests to the refinery’s century-long history, new gleaming hydrogen-powered structures now signal a future-focused transformation.

The hydrogen-powered refinery is just the beginning. Through its Energy Transition (EET) division, Essar plans to invest further in green energy, with a new hydrogen plant boasting 350 megawatts of generating capacity already in the works. A second hydrogen facility may follow, with the excess gas piped to neighboring industries to support their decarbonization. Ruia highlighted the UK government’s support for these efforts, citing the recent £21.7 billion pledged by Downing Street for clean energy clusters. “These are the premier projects of this size in the world,” he said, praising Britain’s leadership on climate action.

The Essar chief also addressed the refinery’s struggles during the pandemic, when Stanlow faced severe financial pressures as fuel demand collapsed, leading to intense scrutiny over a deferred £356 million VAT bill. Though Essar’s auditor Deloitte and law firm Freshfields both cut ties with the business, Ruia described the company’s resilience during the crisis, asserting, “We kept all our staff on and paid everyone right through.”

Now, Stanlow’s clean energy pivot stands at the center of Essar’s strategic shift. Ruia reflected on the financial challenges the family firm has faced, explaining that selling off assets in recent years has enabled Essar to fund its ambitious green initiatives. “It was difficult to part with assets we’d built, but it set us up to make these investments now,” he said.

Despite Essar’s heavy roots in fossil fuels, Ruia confirmed that his family fully supports the group’s environmental shift. Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said, “My father and uncle might have taken time to see the vision, but now they’re behind it 200 per cent. This is happening, not just an idea.”