A new programme has been launched to help support and develop a new hydrogen economy in the Midlands.
Led by Keele University the 3 year ‘HyDEX‘ project will see university partners in the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) make their £111m hydrogen facilities, demonstrators and research capabilities available to multinational businesses, SMEs and other partners to help accelerate innovation in hydrogen, develop new products, build markets, and support the skills needed for the new hydrogen economy, a key aspect of the net zero transition.
The programme will be supported by organisations from the transport, heating and manufacturing sectors, including Siemens and ENGIE (hydrogen production and storage), FAUN Zoeller (heavy vehicles); Cenex (Hydrogen Networks); Progressive Energy (generation); ITM Motive (transport); Worcester-Bosch and Cadent (hydrogen boilers and gas networks); Intelligent Energy (fuel cells) and Toyota (hydrogen vehicles).
The Universities involved include, in addition to Keele, include, Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Loughborough, Nottingham and Warwick.
Dr Sharon George of Keele University, Principal Investigator for HyDEX, said:
“I am looking forward to leading the HyDEX programme. It will be a great challenge -we are seeking to support the building of a hydrogen economy where one currently doesn’t exist. I am confident that with our academic, industrial and public sector partners, we will be able to demonstrate the commercial potential of hydrogen technologies, support businesses to create products, and build the skills base needed to support the transition to hydrogen.”
The programme follows a ‘HyDeploy’ project, which ran on Keel University’s campus during 2020, which saw hydrogen successfully blended into Keele’s campus gas network, to demonstrate its’ potential to significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with heating and cooking.
