A consortium led by H2GO Power has secured £4.3 million from the U.K. Government to roll-out a smart hydrogen storage system in the Orkney Islands.
The low-pressure hydrogen storage and AI-powered energy management system could displace up to 7,500 gallons of diesel and 90 tonnes of CO2 annually on the islands, which are off the Scottish coast.
The SHyLO (Solid Hydrogen at Low pressures) project has been funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through its HySupply 2 competition.
It aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of using green hydrogen for utility-scale storage on the island and showcase commercial use cases, such as hydrogen refuelling stations, industrial heat, and power and hydrogen blending into gas networks.
H2GO Power also envisions it could be suitable for long-duration energy storage for power and grid stability applications as those markets develop in the medium-term.
Other consortium partners include the European Marine Energy Centre LTD (EMEC), ARC, Autodesk, HSSMI, and Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC).
“This deployment showcases how utilising low-pressure, green hydrogen generated by wind and tidal energy can deliver higher efficiency and lower costs at scale while allowing island residents to depend more on cleaner grid power than their diesel generators,” said Dr. Enass Abo-Hamed, CEO of H2GO Power.
“This project has the potential to power up to 70 homes and 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.”
The Orkney Islands have the highest concentration of small and micro wind turbines in the United Kingdom, including larger community-owned and commercial turbines and farms.
Wind-generated electricity will power water electrolysis to produce hydrogen onsite, stored in H2GO’s proprietary storage technology, and used as a reliable green energy source.
“Not only does our solution reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but it also achieves energy security and cost savings and makes green hydrogen deployment safer, reliable, and sustainable,” said Rishav Bhattacharyya, chief commercial and investment officer.
"Through this project, we look forward to demonstrating how our hardware and software can be used in applications such as industrial heat and power, gas blending, and long-duration energy storage, delivering a superior value proposition to our customers. We deeply value our collaboration with BEIS and the consortium partners in this endeavour and count on the support from our future stakeholders and investment partners to scale our business at a pace that matches the demand in the market and the dire need to decarbonise.”
H2GO's patented solution is modular and flexible, allowing the product to be right-sized for various locations, especially those limited in space.
The company has manufactured, tested, and certified the proprietary design to meet current pressure vessel standards.
In addition, because the technology is pliable, it can be deployed in commercial settings of any size and help green hydrogen projects achieve optimal efficiency.
Earlier this year, H2GO Power announced a separate deployment of its AI and hydrogen storage technology, funded by the Sustainable Innovation Fund, with EMEC and Imperial College London.
In 2021, H2GO Power raised nearly $13.6 million from private investors and public funding institutions to assist with scaling R&D, product development, and execution of pilot projects.
A total of 28 projects across the UK, including Scotland, Wales and the north of England were awarded government funding today (19 May), as part of the HySupply 2 competition.
“The U.K. is truly leading the world in hydrogen innovation thanks to the exciting efforts of companies like H2GO Power,” said British energy minister, Greg Hands.
“The government support which they have received today will help to boost the development of hydrogen as the clean, affordable, homegrown superfuel of the future,” he added.
