Cranfield University at the forefront of new £14.1m global initiative to transform Net Zero hydrogen production
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has allocated £6.2 million in funding to UK partners, with Cranfield University receiving £1.8 million, according to the Cranfield University's release.
Researchers at Cranfield will analyse the social and environmental system changes needed to build a global hydrogen economy, addressing how to make it affordable and looking at the impact production has on local communities and ecosystems. Researchers will also look into developing pathways for energy-intensive and hard-to-abate industries such as ammonia, steel, cement, aluminium, transportation, to adopt it as a source of energy.
HyPT seeks to develop three major Net Zero hydrogen production technologies:
Water electrolysis where electricity is used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Methane pyrolysis where a natural gas is heated to a high temperature and splits into hydrogen and solid carbon.
Photocatalytic solar water splitting where sunlight is used help water break apart into oxygen and hydrogen.
The Center will develop breakthroughs in these technologies while assessing their impacts on local communities and ecosystems so that the Net Zero hydrogen economy develops in an ethical manner.
Arizona State University will lead the water electrolysis work while the University of Adelaide will lead the photocatalysis theme, and the University of Toronto will lead the methane pyrolysis studies.
The Global Hydrogen Production Technologies Center (HyPT) is a £14.1 million five-year project led by Cranfield University, Arizona State University, the University of Adelaide and the University of Toronto, which seeks to accelerate Net Zero hydrogen technologies to make it available at low cost – approximately one dollar per kg of hydrogen.
Cranfield University is leading the UK’s collaboration on an international partnership to make low-cost, large-scale, Net Zero hydrogen production a reality.
Other UK partners include Imperial College London, Newcastle University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Birmingham.
