University to produce more green hydrogen than any other UK research centre

The University of Sheffield is set to produce more green hydrogen than any other British research centre, thanks to new equipment that will support research to help decarbonise the aviation industry.

Sheffield’s Energy Institute is installing a hydrogen electrolyser – technology that produces hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The equipment will be used in research to develop and test new hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).

The electrolyser, from IMI Remosa under the new brand IMI VIVO, is being installed in the university’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC) – the UK’s first R&D facility which is able to develop, test, validate and help certify new fuels all in one location.

The facility, along with the new electrolyser, gives the UK much-needed R&D capabilities in SAFs and can play a major role in helping reduce the environmental impact of air travel.

SAFs are seen as a vital step in reducing global carbon emissions. The aviation industry is responsible for around 7% of total carbon emissions in the UK alone.

However, aviation’s reliance on fossil fuels makes it a challenging sector to decarbonise and new fuels are subject to strict standards and regulations before they can be approved for use.

Researchers from Sheffield will work with partners in the aviation industry to develop new hydrogen and CO2-based fuels that meet these strict standards. They will also work with other industries across the UK to help them switch fuels and decarbonise.

Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian,director of the University of Sheffield’s Energy Institute, said: “In order to drive forward a decarbonised future, we must understand more about the possibilities and capabilities of green hydrogen, particularly with regards to sustainable aviation fuels.

“With this new electrolyser at our SAF-IC facility, we can work with industry and fellow academics to discover and demonstrate the best way to make a hydrogen economy, and a greener future, a reality.

“We are thrilled to have the capacity to produce the green hydrogen in our site, so that our research and development into SAFs, industrial fuel switching and decarbonisation can continue.”

Giuseppe Buscemi, president, IMI Critical Engineering Europe, added: “The aviation industry is responsible for around 7% of the UK’s total carbon emissions and this figure continues to rise.

“Developing new fuels and solutions will therefore be essential to reversing this trend and decarbonising the sector.

“We are proud that the IMI VIVO electrolyser will prove vital to upgrading the University of Sheffield’s research and development capabilities, helping break the aviation industry’s reliance on fossil fuels.

“We expect this technology, both here and in other applications, to play a pivotal role in reducing emissions across multiple sectors as part of our commitment to providing breakthrough engineering for a better world.”