Press release: Low pressure hydrogen storage to be trialled at EMEC

EMEC Hydrogen Production Plant on Eday (credit Colin Keldie)

£4.3 million awarded to SHyLO project consortium to design and build a modular low-pressure hydrogen storage solution to be demonstrated at EMEC’s hydrogen R&D platform in Eday.

SHyLO (Solid Hydrogen at Low pressures) is one of 28 projects selected for funding under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition. The fund supports research and innovation in hydrogen production and transportation.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“The British Energy Security Strategy made clear that we are backing hydrogen not just as a viable source of clean, affordable homegrown energy but as an emerging industry of the future in which the UK can lead the world. This funding will accelerate the development of this exciting new industry, helping position us as a hydrogen superpower on the global stage.”

Led by H2Go Power, innovators of hydrogen-based solutions for renewable energy storage, the SHyLO project aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of utility-scale solid-state green hydrogen storage.

The company’s modular 1 MWh solid-state hydrogen storage system will be deployed and trialled at EMEC’s hydrogen production site in Eday, in partnership with EMEC, Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Abbot Risk Consulting (ARC), Autodesk and HSSMI.

H2Go Power’s smart storage technology stores and dispenses hydrogen in solid-state materials, achieving volume storage densities higher than liquid and gaseous hydrogen, therefore requiring less floor space. The technology stores hydrogen at ambient temperatures and pressures making it suitable for longer-term seasonal storage as well as increasing safety, and lowering costs. Overall the aim is for a more efficient alternative to high-pressure storage solutions.

Earlier this year, EMEC and H2GO Power announced the HYAI 2 project, a separate deployment of its artificial intelligence (AI) platform HyAI. HyAI 2 will trial the use of AI software to optimise hydrogen production and storage through the most efficient use of renewable energy. The SHyLO system will be integrated with the HyAI cloud system and EMEC’s network of hydrogen assets to assess its performance and commercial viability.

EMEC’s Hydrogen Development Manager Matt Storey said:

“The SHyLO project is another excellent example of the value of EMEC’s hydrogen R&D ecosystem. By having this equipment and infrastructure on Eday, it allows EMEC and its partners to test and demonstrate technologies which could help the transition to a clean energy system. With the track record of the other consortium partners and EMECs industry leading skill set, the SHyLO project shall be vital in overcoming the high cost and volume requirements of hydrogen storage which is a fundamental challenge for the use of hydrogen at scale.”

Dr. Enass Abo-Hamed, CEO of H2GO Power, said:

“This deployment showcases how our technology can deliver higher efficiency and lower costs at scale. This project will lower the levelised cost of hydrogen to make the energy competitive with natural gas. Both short-term with the global energy crisis and long-term in the face of climate change, moving away from fossil fuels is in everyone’s priority. At scale, it’s technologies like ours that tick all the boxes of government decarbonisation targets, from economics to security and reliability.”

Peter Italiano, H2GO Power Product Development Director, said:

“We’re excited to have been chosen by BEIS to showcase our innovative technology. The SHyLO project will demonstrate how our proprietary hardware and software can reduce the cost to store hydrogen through significantly lower storage pressures whilst increasing performance – a double win!”

For further information on the other Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition winners: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/winners-of-60-million-government-competition-to-develop-hydrogen-as-the-superfuel-of-the-future-unveiled