ENERGY PATHWAYS: Building out a Backbone for a Decarbonised UK Energy System

The UK’s energy transition has reached a critical juncture. While renewable capacity continues to expand, the ability to store and distribute that energy effectively remains a challenge. Billions of pounds have already been spent curtailing wind generation during periods of low demand, with turbines across the country standing idle even as energy prices surge. Recent reports suggesting taxpayers paid record sums to shut down wind farms because the grid could not absorb their output have not been welcomed warmly by consumers. Even the UK’s largest energy supplier called for immediate action to ‘stop wasting wind power’.

In this context, the UK’s next phase of the energy transition must focus on storage — not simply producing more energy, but ensuring that the power we already generate can be captured, stored, and redeployed when needed. That’s the vision driving Energy Pathways, a company positioning itself at the forefront of long-duration energy storage and clean fuel production. Led by CEO Ben Clube, the business is developing its flagship Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) project — a scheme recently classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the UK Government.

Clube sees MESH as a solution to multiple challenges facing the UK’s energy system: grid imbalance, energy security, and decarbonisation. “We are an integrated energy solutions company and we were established to develop solutions for the energy transition, focused on the UK,” he explains. “We thought that a number of opportunities would come from the energy transition, but not through traditional energy models. We focused on those solutions that deliver clean and reliable supply to the UK. We are joining dots to bring together a number of opportunities into a long-term single project, and that is exciting for many stakeholders.”

THE STORAGE IMPERATIVE

MESH is located in the UK Irish Sea, a region Clube describes as an “energy centre,” thanks to its unique combination of storage reservoirs, existing infrastructure, and proximity to major offshore wind installations. “We are developing MESH, a major energy storage project for the UK and our flagship project,” he says. “Located in the UK Irish Sea, it is ideally suited to supply flexible natural gas and green hydrogen into the UK market. This region is an energy centre, not only because of its high-quality storage reservoirs that we are developing, but it is also adjacent to one of the UK’s largest wind generating centres as well as existing infrastructure that can be repurposed to bring that energy supply into the market.”

The area is already home to the impressive Walney Offshore Wind Farms, the West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm, Barrow and Ormonde Wind Farms, and the upcoming Mona, Morgan, and Morecombe projects which will add significantly to activity in the area. 

The hub’s salt cavern geology offers exceptional advantages for underground gas and hydrogen storage — a fact supported by research from the British Geological Survey (BGS), which notes that salt caverns provide an ideal, scalable solution for long-duration hydrogen storage. The ability to inject and withdraw large volumes of energy quickly, with minimal loss, makes this kind of facility a cornerstone of future grid flexibility.

Energy Pathways’ approach recognises that decarbonisation must go hand-in-hand with reliability. “The project is set up in different stages and that has been part of a deliberate planning process,” Clube explains. “Stage One is focused on delivering a reliable and secure supply of natural gas as the UK becomes increasingly dependent on gas imports.” 

With the UK projected to rely on imports for up to 80% of its gas by 2030, according to Energy Pathways’ data, MESH’s contribution could prove vital. Clube notes: “Stage One will see us fully decarbonise the infrastructure, powering entirely by renewable energy. We will also decarbonise the natural gas supply with the production of green hydrogen, utilising the wind farms of the region.” 

NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT

The project’s recognition as a NSIP underscores its strategic value to the country. This designation streamlines the approval process, ensuring that essential projects move forward without the usual bureaucratic delays. “Our project has been designated a project of national significance and that means it runs through a particular planning approval process to get a Development Consent Order,” says Clube. “The idea behind that is to streamline processes so that critical projects for the UK economy and energy security get moved through in a timely manner.”

That urgency is well placed with consumers faced by higher energy bills, in part because of the large costs associated with switching off wind farms when the energy produced cannot be used or stored. The cost of such curtailments has risen dramatically as wind capacity has expanded. As Clube points out, this problem will only intensify. “Stage Two will see a scale up of the green hydrogen production,” he says. “We expect that storage demand and supply of green hydrogen to increase because the UK is on a path of expanding its renewable wind capacity from 35GW to 90GW. Currently, when running at capacity, wind generation meets the electricity demand for the UK, but as it grows towards 90GW it will have trouble penetrating the market, so storage solutions will be needed. So much taxpayer money is wasted on wind energy that is never used. This will only increase as further capacity comes online.”

Long-duration storage, therefore, becomes the missing link between generation and consumption. Clube continues: “The most significant part of the project for the UK is energy storage. It is a critical feature of the UK’s energy system that long-duration energy storage is required to harness the excess – or wasted – renewable energy that is being wasted.”

PROGRESS AND POTENTIAL

Momentum behind MESH continues to grow. “We are putting in a new application for gas storage licenses and we are very excited by that as it will significantly increase our footprint in the area, making our project scalable which adds a lot more value to the potential of the project,” says Clube.

If successful, the new applications would give Energy Pathways control of an area of salt cavern storage potential around four times greater than initially planned. Such capacity would place MESH among the largest and most flexible energy storage projects in the UK. Clube describes it as “a scalable business model and growth platform for Energy Pathways that will have potential to become a key component in the decarbonised energy future of the UK.”

But Energy Pathways is not limiting its ambitions to gas and hydrogen. The company has secured exclusive UK rights to deploy Hazer low-carbon hydrogen and graphite production technology, allowing it to extract additional value streams from its operations. “This positions MESH as a potential major producer and supplier of high quality and battery grade graphite that can meet the UK’s growing demand for this critical mineral in energy transition. MESH’s potential graphite production capability can play an important part in shoring up the UK’s energy security and its critical minerals supply chain.”

PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION

Energy Pathways’ multi-revenue model offers a diversified approach to the energy transition — combining long-duration energy storage, hydrogen and graphite production, and decarbonised gas supply. “We are offering up to investors an array of revenue streams including long-duration energy storage, hydrogen production, graphite production, and gas production and storage,” says Clube. “We think we can deliver a long duration energy storage system which will be competitive in cost. The other benefit is that it is scalable and repeatable. We think there is real benefit to replicate what we are doing with MESH elsewhere in the UK and overseas.”

Delivering a project of this scale requires partnership. Clube highlights the company’s growing network of collaborators. “We are excited about progress as we move through engineering activity. We are working with world class partners, and we are busy with various submissions and applications,” he says. “We are developing a solution that will offer opportunities to execute a real just transition.”

That transition — toward a fully decarbonised, secure, and economically viable energy system — depends on practical solutions that can link today’s infrastructure with tomorrow’s technologies. Energy Pathways is positioning itself precisely in that space: connecting renewables, storage, and industrial-scale hydrogen production into one cohesive system.

By developing scalable salt cavern storage, integrating renewable energy inputs, and creating value from by-products such as graphite, Energy Pathways’ MESH project has the potential to redefine how the UK manages its growing renewable resources. Clube’s vision is clear: to make wasted wind power a relic of the past and to establish a system capable of delivering clean, secure, and affordable energy for decades to come.