Scottish University Opens Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in collaboration with two hydrogen technology firms, has launched a new centre for green hydrogen innovation and product development.
The Hydrogen Works building will facilitate a variety of hydrogen research and projects, including clean-power generators, refuelling infrastructure, and energy systems for heavy industry.
Partnering with PlusZero Power, is a step towards the university’s ambition to reshape its Riccarton Campus in Edinburgh to accommodate innovative companies and clusters.
Heriot-Watt’s Deputy Principal for Business and Enterprise, Professor Gillian Murray, said: “Hydrogen Works is an excellent example of how co-location on our campuses can drive engagement and accelerate growth in businesses through access to innovation, talent and entrepreneurial minds.
“We look forward to working in partnership with PlusZero and building a strong business cluster in Scotland around the future opportunities hydrogen brings to our economy.”
The partnership brings together decades of hydrogen experience
In collaborating with Heriot-Watt, chief executive, Bill Ireland asserts that academia, industry, and enterprise can work together to meet their collective energy-solution needs.
He said: “Our partnership between Heriot-Watt University and PlusZero comes at a pivotal moment for hydrogen as part of Scotland and the UK’s energy mix.
PlusZero Energy are the Western Isles Council’s exclusive green hydrogen partner, and plan to scale this facility to become a major source of the UK’s green hydrogen production.
Working with our partners at Heriot-Watt University, PlusZero is making hydrogen happen.
Their portable, zero-carbon generators powered by green hydrogen have already removed tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere at several live music events, with the aim to replace diesel generators which emit greenhouse gases.
It is hoped that they can further this progress by bringing their ‘ready-to-go’ green hydrogen solution to additional sectors, including outdoor filming, construction, and outdoor events.
Managing director David Amos said: “I’m delighted that PlusZero Power will be headquartered within the Hydrogen Works building at Heriot-Watt University in order to build a generator fleet that can realise this potential.
The Scottish government is committed to clean-energy
Energy Minister Gillian Martin said: “Scotland has vast natural resources with which we can become world leaders in renewable hydrogen production and export, and the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Action Plan reaffirms our clear commitment to helping our hydrogen sector grow and prosper.
“We must work collaboratively and innovatively in order to realise the huge potential of hydrogen and partnership is important to accelerate the development of the technology.”
Currently, it is estimated that 15% of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the nation’s energy-intensive industry, which relies on fossil fuels.
Earlier this year, the Scottish government published their Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, which outlined a roadmap towards delivering a net zero energy system. The strategy set out plans to commence the production of low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
Within the plan, the government have set a renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production ambition of 5GW by 2030, accounting for a sixth of Scotland’s energy needs, which later increases to 25GW by 2045.
A target of 43% decarbonisation by 2032 has been set, financed through match funding for industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation, including through the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and the Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund.
