Notice

Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition - Stream 2: summaries of successful projects

Updated 29 June 2023

The aim of the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition is to identify, support and then develop credible innovative hydrogen supply or enabling technologies to bring about a step change in their development.

Stream 2 is closed to applications.

Under Stream 2, BEIS awarded c£38 million of funding to 5 projects to support physical demonstration of innovative hydrogen supply solutions.

Projects

Gigatest

Led by ITM Power (Trading) Ltd
Contract Value: £7,709,749

Gigatest will be an enabler for ITM Power to accelerate both the commercial development of its 4th-generation Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser stack, and its new Gigafactory manufacturing site (located in Sheffield). Through this project ITM Power seeks to commercialise the lowest-cost green hydrogen solution on the market, supporting rapid decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors whilst also strengthening the UK’s leadership in clean energy technologies.

As part of Gigatest ITM Power will build its first 4th-generation electrolyser stack. This follows conceptual designs developed through previous BEIS funding competitions. Following construction, the stack will undergo rigorous testing in Sheffield in representative conditions to validate the performance and in a 4MW field trial at a commercial site to validate the technology in real-world conditions, ensuring the technology is ready for large-scale commercialisation. ITM Power’s 4th-generation stack has multiple advantages over current competitors including: lower capital costs, higher current density, and a smaller physical footprint for the system. These advantages will greatly enhance the stack’s ability to operate under flexible conditions when coupled to renewable energy, therefore producing green hydrogen at the lowest cost on the market. ITM Power is confident the 4th-generation stack will be globally best-in-class, offering multiple advantages over other technology platforms, and aims to establish it as the mainstream green-hydrogen solution in the UK and global markets.

Furthermore, Gigatest will be critical to ITM Power for deployment and validation of key manufacturing equipment at its new Gigafactory. This will contribute to the enabling of semi-automated mass-production processes suitable for the components of the electrolyser stacks. ITM Power’s new Gigafactory will be crucial in ramping-up green hydrogen production in the UK and establishing the UK as a global export leader of electrolyser technologies. Advancements in manufacturing techniques and equipment through Gigatest will allow ITM Power to realise a manufacturing capacity of 1GW/year by 2024 whilst maintaining the highest quality standards for the 4th-generation stack.

Gigatest will make an important contribution to the UK’s 2030 hydrogen production target of 5 GW and to securing highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the UK.

Visit the ITM Power (Trading) Ltd website for more information.

Hydrogen Turbine 1 (HT1)

Led by Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd
Contract Value: £9,292,246

Vattenfall’s 8.8MW Hydrogen Turbine 1 (HT1) project will be a world-first full scale demonstration combining offshore wind and zero carbon green hydrogen production. The hydrogen production will take place at Vattenfall’s operational 97MW EOWDC Aberdeen Bay offshore windfarm – a testbed for new and exciting innovation. The electrolyser will be integrated into the turbine itself.

Our innovative solution brings together multiple technologies and parties in a new and challenging offshore environment, the project will demonstrate technical ability and will help pave the way for the UK’s Hydrogen economy.

HT1 consists of hydrogen production equipment: including desalination, electrolysis and associated balance-of-plant closely integrated with the turbine power electronics, physically coupled with the turbine, on an extended platform which will encircle the base of the turbine. Turbine power will be dedicated to hydrogen production, and the electrolyser is expected to operate without requiring energy supply from the national grid.

The hydrogen will be transported to shore via pipeline for processing and delivery to end users. To accelerate demonstration of the pilot and maximise cost efficiencies, Vattenfall will aim to commence operation by early 2025.

HT1 will deliver hydrogen into the Aberdeen area, where it can then be utilised by various offtakers. Aberdeen has a highly skilled workforce that could support the project and benefit from its delivery. Vattenfall believes that the “deep offshore integration” concept can provide low-cost hydrogen at scale.

HT1 is a vital step in Vattenfall’s plan to rapidly scale the concept to GW-size projects by 2030. By using existing assets we will expedite development time, maximise cost efficiency and provide learnings for the entire offshore wind industry.

Visit the Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd website for more information.

ERM Dolphyn - Commercial Scale Demonstration

Led by Environmental Resources Management Ltd
Contract Value: £8,624,629

ERM Dolphyn is focused on the production of ‘green’ hydrogen at multi-GW scale from offshore floating wind. It is a modular design, which combines electrolysis, desalination and hydrogen production on a floating wind platform. The design has been developed under the UK government’s Hydrogen Supply Competition (2016-2021) and we are delighted to receive further support under the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 programme to continue accelerating its progress.

The project focuses on a rapid and efficient means of moving to large-scale deployment. It aims to make a significant contribution to the government’s hydrogen production targets for 2030 and beyond, as well as being fully aligned with the government’s 10 point Plan for net zero. As the technology produces hydrogen directly from seawater and wind, it is a fully sustainable solution and does not put any additional load on the power grid, thereby avoiding grid constraint issues. In so doing it provides UK society with security of supply of net zero energy supplies.

This phase builds on the successful delivery of previous phases, with the following activities:

• offshore demonstration trials to evaluate key systems during 2023. The trials will produce electrolytic hydrogen from seawater in an offshore floating marine environment
• development of a commercial scale demonstrator by 2025 which aims to produce hydrogen at a commercial price

Development of ERM Dolphyn to date has enabled a number of commercial scale sites (100 MW+) to be identified. The first being the 300 MW Dylan site in the Celtic Sea, 60km west of Milford Haven, in collaboration with Source Energie. The aim is to have this project operational by the end of 2028.

We aim to utilise the support of the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 programme to further accelerate commercial scale deployment in the UK and internationally.

Visit the Environmental Resources Management Ltd website for more information.

SHyLO: Solid Hydrogen at Low pressures

Led by H2GO Power Ltd
Contract Value: £4,347,217

Green hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity generation; therefore, there will be intermittency in its generation and storage methods are required during periods of low generation to provide a buffer. Low-pressure solid-state hydrogen storage provides an alternative to other methods, such as compressed gas storage.

The ease of its input/output of compressed gas makes it a reliable method of gas storage, however, this method comes with its own challenges. Pressurised vessels on operational sites pose safety challenges, efficiency limitations, high costs at scale associated with compression, and require large areas of land to store.

This project will design and build a modular hydrogen storage solution with the proprietary H2GO Power smart reactor technology which is proven and certified. The H2GO product provides a solution where compressed gas is not feasible. The technology can achieve volumetric storage densities of up to 50-100gH2/L, higher than liquid and gaseous state hydrogen storage, thus needing less floor space for storage. Additionally, the technology stores hydrogen at ambient temperatures and pressures, making it a safer, lower cost, and more efficient alternative to high-pressure storage solutions onsite for long-duration storage. This has significant cost savings (removing compression or cryogenic cooling costs), space savings and is safer; removing a lot of regulatory requirements, and hydrogen can be stored in periods of days to months providing the security of supply required.

This first construction of a modular pilot is critical for the technology evaluation at a commercial scale to establish a viable solution and a market offering. The program of works will integrate H2GO hydrogen storage reactors into a shipping container with the associated heat management and process safety controls to confirm the solution. This solution will then be integrated into the EMEC network of hydrogen assets to assess its performance and commercial viability.

Visit the H2GO Power Ltd website for more information.

Tyseley Ammonia to Green Hydrogen

Led by Gemserv Ltd
Contract Value: £6,690,711

A consortium of Gemserv, EQUANS, H2Site, Tyseley Energy Park, University of Birmingham and Yara will design, build, commission, and operate the world’s largest and most efficient ammonia to hydrogen integrated membrane reactor. The ammonia cracker developed under the programme will deliver 200kg/day of transport-grade hydrogen. It will be located at Tyseley Energy Park and co-located alongside an existing refuelling station. The project aims to dramatically improve the efficiency and economics of decentralised hydrogen production through the use of integrated membrane reactors. It will accelerate the development of decentralised green hydrogen solutions in the UK and position the country at the forefront of an emerging global market.

Visit the Gemserv Ltd website for more information.