dCarbonX

Built for today’s energy needs. Designed for tomorrow. Bains will store natural gas first – and it is being designed so the facility can convert to hydrogen as the UK’s net zero ambitions advance. Security and net zero are too often framed as a trade-off. A successful transition delivers both, and infrastructure like Bains is the how. This is an asset built to evolve.

We know what happens when energy markets take a shock. Prices rise. Businesses absorb what they can. Household bills follow. Governments are forced to act at speed, usually at considerable, reactive cost. Britain still holds one of the lowest levels of gas storage capacity in the G7. Around 10-12 days of national demand, against roughly 100 days in Germany, France and Italy. And the uncomfortable truth is that the UK's energy system is changing faster than the infrastructure underneath it. North Sea production is declining. Global competition for LNG is intensifying. Demand patterns are shifting. And while we rightly build towards a lower-carbon future, millions of homes and businesses still depend on a system that must work today. We do not think pretending otherwise is helpful. Nor do we accept that the choice is between energy security and decarbonisation. The answer is to build for both. Build pragmatically. That is the thinking behind Bains: turning a depleted gas field in the East Irish Sea into 1.4 billion cubic metres of gas storage, increasing the UK's capacity by around 50% and adding roughly six days of national demand. But the numbers are only part of the story. The bigger, decisive, and consequential point is enhanced resilience. More gas in storage means more buffer when demand spikes, when markets turn, when supply is disrupted. It allows the system to more easily absorb a shock rather than passing every shock straight through to the people and businesses who pay for it. Bains is not a bet against the energy transition. It is being designed to evolve with it, with the potential to convert to hydrogen storage as the UK's system changes. If Britain is serious about an energy system that is resilient, affordable, and lower-carbon, it must build the infrastructure that enables that. Bains is one part. The film makes the case in full. The question we would put back is simple: if not this, then what?

The UK doesn’t have to choose between energy security and net zero. It must build for both. Bains: resilience today through natural gas storage, with the design flexibility to transition to hydrogen as the system evolves. The real question isn’t whether Britain pursues net zero. It is whether we build the infrastructure to get there, without gambling on affordability or security of supply. So: what should the UK build first?

The 2022 energy crisis showed what limited gas storage costs Britain. The answer is already on the table. Bains: around 50% more national storage capacity, by repurposing an existing depleted field in the UK, with a storage licence already secured. £830 million of investment. Hundreds of jobs. Not just an energy project, but a strategic investment in the UK’s security, resilience, and growth. Watch what’s possible in the East Irish Sea. #EnergySecurity #Bains #StrategicInfrastructure

The UK can store 10 days of gas. Germany: 89. France: 103. Bains would help close that gap. Repurposing the depleted Bains field in the East Irish Sea adds around 50% to the UK’s storage capacity, meaning resilience against disruption, volatility, and peak demand. £830 million of private investment. Hundreds of jobs. Infrastructure the system needs. Watch below: the case for Bains.

Recent years taught the UK an expensive lesson: global events reach household bills fast. That exposure hasn’t gone away. If anything, it has grown. Gas storage is how a country protects homes and businesses from volatile markets and surging demand, meaning resilience is built in, not hoped for. An energy system is only as strong as its buffer. Watch: the case for resilience.