Hydrogen hub invests £3million in groundbreaking net zero projects

The University of Bath-based UK Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Alternative Liquid Fuels (UK HyRES) is providing the money to the projects which address its key themes of hydrogen production, storage and end use and alternative carriers

Professor Tim Mays, from the university’s department of chemical engineering and head of UK HyRES, said the beneficiaries would join 14 core projects already underway within the Hub, with the aim of boosting plans to attain net zero emissions in the UK by 2050.

“This gives UK HyRES a comprehensive base of top-tier research expertise to help answer the key questions around how we can use hydrogen and zero-carbon alternative liquid fuels to help reach Net Zero,” said May.

He added that the projects, to be supported by the Hub’s flexifund scheme, were picked from 160 expressions of interest which produced a long list of nearly 50 proposals.

“The high quality and variety of all of the submissions was remarkable, and it was an incredibly difficult task to narrow down to the eventual funded projects,” admitted May, who added the organisation look forward to opportunities to distribute the remaining flexifund budget of around £2 million.

The 10 projects and their leaders are:

Decoupled electrolysis of seawater

Professor Mark Symes, University of Glasgow

Researching the potential to create an electrolyser that can produce hydrogen directly from seawater, by using the disruptive approach of decoupled electrolysis (forming the oxygen and hydrogen products at different times, at different rates and in different locations). Producing hydrogen directly from seawater would be a major breakthrough, particularly where freshwater supplies are limited, such as in offshore or desert locations.

Repurposing the economy future of the North Sea (MHYSTIC)

Dr Alfonso Martinez-Felipe, University of Aberdeen

Describing and optimising the key mechanical properties of materials used for hydrogen storage and transport; enhancing the safety of long-distance H2 transmission networks; determining the feasibility of repurposing offshore assets in the North Sea for H2 production, generation and storage.

Multi-purpose exploration of ammonia reduction of iron oxides to enable green steel and high purity (MARIO)

Professor Aidong Yang, University of Oxford

Ammonia as a hydrogen carrier has great potential in decarbonising industrial and energy systems, particularly in the long-distance integration between regions. MARIO will establish the potential of techniques (ammonia direct reduction and hydrogen direct reduction) in steel production, a sector responsible for approximately 8% of global carbon emissions.

Stabilising the AEM-catalyst interface (STACI)

Professor Alexander Cowan, Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, University of Liverpool

Developing new electrode and membrane architectures of anion exchange membrane wafer electrolysers (AEM-WEs) to increase device stability and build device and system-level models of the new structures.

The project seeks to increase the lifetime of AEM-WEs, which are around 40% cheaper than conventional acid proton exchange membrane water electrolysers.

Understanding synergistic effects in Iridium-free bimetallic oxide electrocatalysts

Dr Alex Walton, University of Manchester

Researching oxides of Ruthenium in the use of acid water electrolysis for large-scale and stable green hydrogen production. Ruthenium is an abundant, cheap and comparable alternative to Iridium.

An uUltra-low NOx eEmission catalytic burner fuelled with neat ammonia (UNISON)

Dr Dawei Wu, University of Birmingham

Seeking to improve the combustion of neat ammonia by exploring fuel additive-enhanced combustion or a catalytic burner that enable ammonia-hydrogen co-combustion. Key goals include optimising combustion efficiency, minimising emissions, and providing industry-ready solutions for ammonia combustion.

Novel low-cost, high-performance opto-chemical hydrogen sensors (OptiSen)

Professor Gerard Fernando, University of Birmingham

Developing optical fibre-based sensors that are low-cost, robust and multi-functional for hydrogen storage and transport applications. 

Ammonia release safety modelling

Professor Jennifer X. Wen, University of Surrey

Ammonia is an efficient hydrogen carrier and clean alternative fuel for marine transport and power generation. This project will investigate and model safety scenarios that may occur in line with increased global transportation, storage and bunkering of ammonia.

Mitigating degradation and enhancing durability in metal-supported solid oxide electrolysers

Professor Stephen Skinner, Imperial College London

Characterising and testing of power cells to understand the relationships between solid oxide electrolysers and electrochemical performance, materials degradation and predicting the useful lifetime of cells and devices.

Triple boost strategy for low energy consuming catalytic ammonia synthesis (Trimonia)

Professor Terence Liu, University of Northumbria

This project aims to implement a systematic, performance-enhancing approach for the highly efficient and low-energy catalytic synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen.

In 2023, Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government awarded UK HyRES £11 million through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in 2023 for its work. Other universities within the UK HyRES hub include Portsmouth, Sheffield, St Andrews, Surrey, University College London and Warwick.

Read more about UK HyRES here.