The world's biggest energy infrastructure investor has today backed the North Sea to become the green energy hub of Europe.

Macquarie Group - which has over £610billion in assets under management - has been acquiring offshore wind farms, pipelines and networks that will be in prime position to produce, carry and store the clean hydrogen that could replace gas heating in homes across Britain.

This morning it emerged that it has poured more than £50billion into UK assets since 2005, many of which are in the North Sea.

The news is a significant boost for the North East Scotland Green Freeport bid, which aims to transform the region into the continent's net zero capital.

“The UK has a great opportunity to be the energy hub of Europe,” Martin Bradley, head of infrastructure investments for Macquarie Asset Management in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

'We believe in the North Sea'

The UK wants to be net zero 2050, and clean energy has gained even more momentum since Russia invaded Ukraine.

While extracting much more natural gas from the North Sea’s depleted fields may not be possible, its shallow waters and gusty winds are a boon for the renewable electricity needed to make green hydrogen.

Mr Bradley added: “We believe in the North Sea for energy storage. I think UK hydrogen production needs to be offshore.”

The UK's stance on phasing out oil and gas has softened in recent months, but increasing production in the North Sea isn’t a long-term option. Output has been declining the past two decades, with aging fields now yielding only about a third of the gas they did in 2000.

Still, the infrastructure built around the fossil-fuels industry, and the roughly 300,000 jobs created, can be easily repurposed for renewable energy, according to the bank, which has interests in 10 offshore wind farms or projects in the North Sea.

“There’s a lot of investment needed, and if governments are worried about energy security, you have to look at renewables,” Bradley said. “That’s where there is the most opportunity because you are not creating a new dependency on someone else.”

Granting green freeport status to the North-east is likely to accelerate further green energy investment in the region, with hydrogen car manufacturer Riversimple among the companies looking to locate operations in the area.

32,000 jobs boost

The Scottish and UK governments are working together to create two green freeports in Scotland by next year. The special economic zones will offer tax breaks and lower business tariffs to stimulate investment.

As many as 32,000 jobs could be supported in an £8.5billion boost to the regional economy, if the joint Aberdeen and Peterhead bid was successful.

The North East Scotland Green Freeport consortium – led by the Port of Aberdeen, Peterhead Port Authority, Aberdeen International Airport, and the region's two local authorities – has vowed to use the designation to place the area at the heart of the global energy transition.

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Macquarie's intervention.

He said: “It is really encouraging that one of the largest investment companies in the world is backing up what we already knew in the North-east of Scotland - that the UK and Scotland has the opportunity to become a global leader in clean energy technologies.

"At the heart of this will be Aberdeen and Peterhead, providing perhaps a bigger and longer term economic opportunity for the region than when oil was discovered in the North Sea.

"The collective expertise, innovation and skills built up in the area over the last 60 years across operators, supply chain, universities, agencies and other partners mean we are well placed to once again be at the vanguard of innovation and change.

"The First Minister herself has said she wants Aberdeen to be Europe’s net zero capital and these remarks from Macquarie are further evidence that this is much more than just a pipe dream. Granting the North-east green freeport status is vital if the ambition is to be realised."

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