The project will involve the construction of a Hydrogen Production Facility (HPF) to support the brewery site near Junction 23a of the M4. The hydrogen produced will be used to fuel the brewery’s production, as well as its key logistics assets including Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and forklift trucks.
The HPF will produce green hydrogen via renewable electricity generated by wind turbines and solar panels close to the site.
The use of green hydrogen technology will help to provide zero carbon power and fuel for all its operations, bringing emissions close to net zero. The project reaffirms Budweiser Brewing Group’s long-term commitment to the site as a significant local employer.
Electrolyser Site: Indicative computer generated image of the site
“The facility will save approximately 15,500 tonnes of CO2e per year from 2027, equating to the removal of roughly 3,300 cars from UK roads or 12,000 long haul flights per year.”
As this project will deliver over 10MW of renewable energy it will constitute a Development of National Significance (DNS) under the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 and we must apply to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), which will make a recommendation to Welsh Ministers on whether or not to grant planning permission. This website will provide further information about how to participate in this process as we undertake local consultation.
The proposed site of the Hydrogen Production Facility (HPF) is situated adjacent to the existing Brewery site just off Junction 23a of the M4, at Magor, South Wales.
Further proposed infrastructure, such as solar panels and a wind turbine would be sited in close proximity to the existing brewery site on land south of Magor to ensure ease of connection to the site to deliver the required green energy.
Further information and documents will be available to download from the Consultation page, or in the Virtual Consultation.
Magor Net Zero has the potential to deliver a state of the art facility that could radically change the way industrial processes such as those required at Magor Brewery are delivered. This project will future proof the business at Magor Brewery, safeguarding existing jobs, and creating new ones.
The carbon reduction benefits are clear - if we are to meet our climate obligations by 2030, projects like Magor Net Zero will play a vital part in achieving this.
The improvements to the processes involved will mean a much quieter, cleaner facility at Magor, with much improved air quality through the removal of emissions from HGVs from local roads and around Junction 23a.
In 2023, we formally commenced the project’s community benefit programme, with measures including:
Further community benefit initiatives will be announced in due course.
These initial FAQs provide some initial information about the proposals.
They will evolve and expand over time to incorporate additional information and address queries that arise as the Project progresses.
As this project will deliver over 10MW of renewable energy it will constitute a Development of National Significance (DNS) under the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 and we must apply to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), which will make a recommendation to Welsh Ministers on whether or not to grant planning permission.
Ultimately, Welsh Ministers will decide whether or not to approve the application, however many other parties will have the opportunity to influence the proposals, including the host local authority, Monmouthshire County Council, as well as local communities and interested parties.
We are proposing to undertake an extensive pre-application community consultation exercise prior to submitting an application to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). This will involve at least two rounds of public consultation, including a formal consultation period as required by the DNS regulations set out in the Planning (Wales) Act 2015.
We will be communicating further information about this consultation and how local residents and interested parties can be involved later this year. All information will be available to view on the project website (www.magornetzero.co.uk) and will be publicised via a number of channels in due course.
Due to the fact that Magor Brewery is already a significant local employer, the proposals will help to safeguard hundreds of existing jobs, plus generate new ones through the construction process. Further permanent jobs would also be created for the ongoing running of the new facility.
Additional investment through the local supply chain will also prove to be a benefit with contractors and construction workers looking to make use of local shops and services during the construction period.
Further information on community benefit, supply chain and economic investment opportunities will be made available in due course.
We are currently aiming to submit an application to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) in 2024. Pre-application consultation took place in 2022 and details of our plans for statutory, formal consultation, will be announced soon.
As with all new development proposals, an assessment of how the plans may affect local roads and traffic patterns is an important consideration - one that we will be looking at very carefully. Given that the Brewery currently has a managed logistics system in place means that any additional traffic generated through the construction period can be incorporated to ensure minimal, if any, noticeable change to existing activity at the site.
Once operational, the proposals mean that the existing vehicle journeys that currently take place will just be much cleaner, as HGV's will be running on hydrogen, rather than traditional fuels. The proposed scheme is designed to improve existing processes, rather than add any additional movements directly, so there should not be a significant change in current levels of movement into and out of the Brewery site.
As is currently the case, all traffic related to the Brewery will access the site directly from the motorway via the A4810, and no HGV's will be travelling through Magor, Undy, or other surrounding villages.
