Protium acquired the 15MW Cromarty Hydrogen Project and Storegga’s wider Scottish green hydrogen development portfolio in 2026. The project is part of the UK Government’s Hydrogen Allocation Round 1, administered by DESNZ. Storegga, a UK-based decarbonisation developer, sold the portfolio to Protium, a privately held green hydrogen platform with operating assets in Wales and development clusters in South Tees.

The deal shows a clearer shift in UK green hydrogen M&A: buyers are moving from speculative hydrogen pipelines toward government-backed, delivery-ready projects that can support industrial offtake and national energy security.

Protium brings operational proof to the acquisition. Its Pioneer 1 facility in South Wales has supplied more than 4,000kg of green hydrogen since 2023. Pioneer 2, a 2.5MW facility, has reached first gas and is expected to produce one tonne per day once fully operational in June 2026.

The asset stage matters. Cromarty is not an early concept. It is a HAR1-backed development asset with policy support, making it more bankable than unallocated hydrogen projects.

For Storegga, the sale transfers execution risk to a specialist operator. For Protium, it adds Scottish capacity to a UK platform spanning Wales, Scotland, and South Tees.

This signals that UK green hydrogen M&A will favor developers with operating track records, logistics capability, and government-backed project pipelines, not standalone early-stage concepts.

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