Hydrogen & Carbon Capture jobs in the UK

A sector growing around industrial clusters

Hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) are closely linked. Both aim to cut emissions from heavy industry, power and transport, and both are being developed first in the UK's industrial clusters, where emitters, pipelines and offshore storage sites are close together.

On Teesside, the Northern Endurance Partnership has reached financial close on infrastructure to carry carbon dioxide offshore and store it in the Endurance saline aquifer beneath the North Sea, initially serving projects including Net Zero Teesside Power. In the North West, the HyNet cluster's Liverpool Bay CCS project, operated by Eni, reached financial close with the government in April 2025 and will store carbon dioxide in depleted gas fields under Liverpool Bay.

The first Hydrogen Allocation Round, announced in December 2023, selected projects including Tees Green Hydrogen, Cromarty Hydrogen in the Highlands and Trafford Green Hydrogen in Greater Manchester. In Scotland, the Acorn project centred on the St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire has government funding for development work, and many of the skills it needs are found in Aberdeen's energy workforce.

What the work involves

Most projects are still in development or construction, so early hiring is concentrated among developers, engineering contractors and consultancies. Operations roles follow as plants start up. Utilisation, where captured carbon dioxide is used in products such as fuels, building materials or drinks, is a smaller part of the sector for now. This table shows the main areas of work:

Area	Example roles
Carbon capture plants	Process and chemical engineers, commissioning engineers, operations technicians
Transport and storage	Pipeline, subsea and well engineers, reservoir engineers, geoscientists, compression specialists
Hydrogen production	Electrolyser technicians, electrical and instrument engineers, process safety engineers
Hydrogen use and distribution	Gas network engineers, combustion specialists, refuelling and fuel cell technicians
Development and commercial	Project developers, permitting specialists, commercial managers, regulatory analysts

Engineering and construction

Front-end design and construction need process, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrument and civil engineers, along with planners, cost engineers, quality inspectors and construction managers. Contractors with experience of refineries, chemical plants and gas terminals are well placed.

Operations and maintenance

Once running, capture plants and electrolysers need control room operators, process technicians, and mechanical, electrical and instrument technicians. Offshore storage sites need monitoring, well integrity and subsea maintenance teams.

Science, policy and commercial roles

Geoscientists characterise storage sites and monitor stored carbon dioxide. Policy, regulatory and commercial specialists work on business models, permits and offtake agreements, and community engagement staff explain projects to local residents.

Skills and qualifications that transfer

Hydrogen and CCUS draw heavily on skills from oil, gas and process industries. Employers commonly look for:

• process safety knowledge, including COMAH sites, HAZOP studies and DSEAR hazardous area assessment
• CompEx certification for electrical and instrument work in hazardous areas
• chartered status or progress towards it through a professional institution, particularly IChemE for chemical engineers
• degrees in chemical, process or petroleum engineering, geoscience or electrical engineering for engineering and subsurface roles
• the CCNSG safety passport for onshore engineering construction sites

If you already work with high-pressure gas, flammable atmospheres or offshore wells, much of your experience is directly relevant.

Getting started in hydrogen or carbon capture

Graduates in chemical engineering, geoscience and related subjects can join developers, operators and consultancies on graduate programmes. Apprentices in process, instrumentation and engineering construction build the practical skills these plants will need.

Because timelines depend on investment decisions and construction progress, check whether a post is tied to one project phase or is a longer-term development or operations role. Asking how the employer expects the team to grow is a fair interview question and tells you a lot about the job.

Experienced career changers are the largest source of talent. Engineers and technicians from oil and gas, refining, chemicals and gas networks move across with relatively little retraining. Service leavers with engineering, chemical or logistics backgrounds also fit well, particularly in operations and project roles.

Hydrogen and CCUS jobs on Energy Jobs Board

You can search hydrogen and carbon capture jobs by keyword, location and sector. Try searching for terms such as electrolyser, CCUS or process engineer alongside the sector filter.

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