SHyLO project receives support for hydrogen storage at EMEC

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. £4.3 million was 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.

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 higher volume storage densities than liquid and gaseous hydrogen, 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.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Business and Energy Secretary, 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.”

Matt Storey, EMEC’s Hydrogen Development Manager, said, “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.”

Dr Enass Abo-Hamed, CEO of H2GO Power, said, “This project will lower the levelised cost of hydrogen to make the energy competitive with natural gas.”

Peter Italiano, H2GO Power Product Development Director, said, “The SHyLO project will demonstrate how our proprietary hardware and software can reduce the cost to store hydrogen through significantly lower storage pressures.”