An international renewable energy firm has its eyes on a site in Kent.

Lhyfe is considering building a hydrogen-renewable energy generation plant next to the Kemsley Fields Business Park at Ridham Dock Road in Sittingbourne.

The company was founded in France by Matthieu Guesné in 2017 but following a €110m IPO (Initial Public Offering of shares) on the Euronext Paris exchange in 2022, the company, which already has plants in France, Belgium and Germany, has been moving into the UK.

It has opened a UK headquarters in Newcastle and a plant in Sheffield.

In Sittingbourne, the firm is looking at a five-hectare greenfield site to the north of Kemsley.

The site is bounded by The Swale to the east and industrial land to the west, south and north.

Across The Swale lies the Elmley National Nature Reserve and the site is close to the North Kent Marshes Area of High Landscape Value.

Lhyfe wants to build a hydrogen generation station with the potential to supply up to 32,000 tonnes of renewable fuel per year.

The plant would split water into oxygen and hydrogen by placing a charge across two electrodes, one positively charged anode and one negatively charged cathode.

The hydrogen will be compressed for use in industry and piped directly to neighbouring businesses.

The oxygen can be vented harmlessly into the atmosphere or captured for commercial use in steel, plastic and textile production.

The electricity used in the manufacturing process will itself come from renewable sources.

The factory would comprise three buildings, with the main one being 28m wide, 89m long and 12m high.

The company applied to Swale council asking if it would be required to carry out a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It’s a long and complicated process, but having assessed the likely impact on the environment, Swale has ruled that the site is not within a sensitive area and an EIA will not be necessary, leaving the way clear for Lhyfe to submit a planning application.

Swale council characterised the surrounding area as being one of industrial and warehouse buildings and the land on which the plant will sit as being poor quality, Grade 4, agricultural land.

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The council considered that the plant would result in only a low increase in traffic movements once in operation.

The council’s view can be found on its website under reference number: 24/503615