- First of its kind 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
- Technology solution expects to achieve up to 55 percent lower costs over three years compared to compression solutions
- Funding secured from the UK Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition, with project consortium members including EMEC, ARC, Autodesk, HSSMI, and MTC
LONDON — As Europe continues to lower its dependence on fossil fuels with renewable energy, H2GO Power is deploying its state-of-the-art commercial-scale hydrogen storage technology to bring greater energy security and reliability to the electrical grid of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. During the system’s lifetime, H2GO’s smart hydrogen storage system, could remove over 225,000 gallons of diesel over its 30 year lifetime from the use by residents for home heat and power and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. H2GO’s autonomous system, integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), stores and dispenses hydrogen in solid-state materials offering potential savings of up to 55 percent compared to compressing and storing hydrogen at high pressures. It’s expected that the H2GO’s solution could deliver a targeted levelized cost of hydrogen conversion and storage at $0.25 per kg by 2028.
The SHyLO (Solid Hydrogen at Low pressures) project is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition, for £4.3 million and involves a consortium led by H2GO Power and several other partners, including The European Marine Energy Centre LTD (EMEC), ARC, Autodesk, HSSMI, and Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC).
“The UK is truly leading the world in hydrogen innovation thanks to the exciting efforts of companies like H2GO Power,” said 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.”
The project 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 technology suitability for long-duration energy storage for power and grid stability applications as those markets develop in the medium-term. The project expects to generate 100 additional jobs by 2026 through H2GO Power and 50 more jobs across the other partners. Additionally, 211 indirect jobs will be created in the supply chain, increasing the financial impact of the SHyLO demonstration project and strengthening the local economy.
“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 UK, including larger community-owned and commercial turbines and farms. And with a lack of connection to the UK’s primary utility grid, the islands are an ideal location for H2GO’s technology. 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 of H2GO Power. “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.”
The deployment also falls in line with the Clean Energy for Islands Initiative, which supports the development of energy resilience and sustainable growth for Europe’s 2,400 surrounding islands. By deploying H2GO’s technology throughout these islands, the renewable energy industry could experience tremendous market growth, and residents would experience increased grid resiliency and reliability. In addition, the technology will deliver further independence from fossil fuels and accelerate the displacement of carbon emissions.
Beyond its unique ability to store hydrogen in a solid-state using heat instead of compression, 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.
Combined with the HyAI product platform, the H2GO system can unlock the lowest levelised cost of energy (LCOE). The artificial intelligence (AI) software conducts feasibility studies, collects data, manages assets live, and tracks the hydrogen molecule journey to ensure the energy is economical and determines the best time for the stored hydrogen to be utilised.
“This demonstration showcases our ability to deploy proprietary hardware and software solutions into a commercial hydrogen project,” Luke Sperrin, CTO and co-founder of H2GO Power. “Using intelligent optimisation software, we quicken the communication during the production process and ultimately deliver hydrogen faster and more efficiently. This, in addition to our hardware platform, makes H2GO a practical and financially viable solution for green hydrogen to be used at scale.”
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 to trial the use. 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.
About H2GO Power
H2GO Power is revolutionising hydrogen storage solutions to dramatically reduce costs by as much as 50 percent. The company eliminates the need for compression to store commercial-scale green hydrogen made from renewable sources, for use in a wide range of commercial, industrial, and residential applications, including refuelling stations, heat and power, gas networks, and power and grid stability
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, H2GO is an award-winning, woman-led company founded by CEO Dr. Enass Abo-Hamed, honored for her work with awards from the World Economic Forum, The Financial Times, and MIT Technology Review, among others.
About The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The UK government department responsible for business, industrial strategy, science, innovation, energy, and climate change. BEIS is a combination of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The funding has been made available from the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to support innovation in the supply of hydrogen. This competition looks to provide funding for projects that can help develop a wide range of innovative low-carbon hydrogen supply solutions.
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