The Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) has announced the three winners of its electrolyser funding competition.
Clyde Hydrogen Systems is working to revolutionise the green hydrogen sector with its decoupled electrolysis technology. This offers flexibility and opportunities that are not current possible with existing electrolysers. It sees hydrogen and oxygen produced separately at different times and different rates. This enhances safety and reduces costs. It is able to produce high pressure hydrogen without mechanical compression, with the technology highly compatible with intermittent renewable energy sources.
Aqsorption is working on high pressure membraneless electroylser technology which has been designed to be more efficient and operate at higher pressures than other technologies, though doing so at reduced maintenance costs. The design being membraneless also means reduced reliance on rare earth minerals which are expensive, while its ability to recapture kinetic energy from the high pressure oxygen output further boosts system efficiency too.
Finally, Latent Drive’s SeaStack technology is a direct seawater-to-hydrogen electrolyser. Its unique cell design means it can exploit the properties of seawater and eliminate the need for desalination and purification of the fed water. The advantage of this is that it can move hydrogen production offshore for close coupling to the energy supply at windfarms, with wind energy captured at a lower cost, bringing down the cost of green hydrogen. Furthermore, there is reduced burden of maintenance thanks to the marinised design and minimum balance-of-plant, making it ideal for severe environments such as floating offshore wind platforms.
Research from the first phase of the NZTC’s Energy Hubs project had identified a need to accelerate the development of next generation electrolyser technologies. Now, in this second phase, it has taken action to push forward the development of prototypes with this funding, striving to pilot them.
The purpose of the Hubs project is to develop energy infrastructure across Scotland to produce large-scale green hydrogen and alternative fuels. It is expected it will be able to transform Scotland into a leading exporter of green hydrogen, with a dedicated hydrogen pipeline aiming to export over 0.9 million tonnes to Europe every year.
Darren Gee, ETF Programme Manager at the NZTC, said: “Electrolyser technology is an exciting sector right now, and the technological breakthroughs of today will pave the way for the green energy solutions of tomorrow. In Phase 1 of our Energy Hubs project, we identified an urgent need to accelerate the efficiency of electrolyser operation. In Phase 2, we are taking action. Together with key industry partners, we identified three groundbreaking UK technologies from a remarkably strong field of applicants. These technologies are scalable and have the potential to significantly push the boundaries of hydrogen production.”
