A partnership project between Wales & West Utilities (WWU) and a technology firm has successfully produced green hydrogen from several impure water sources.

The project, which is funded by the OFGEM Strategic Innovation Fund, sees WWU working with HydroStar to develop hydrogen systems designed to reduce the operational barriers to wide-scale green hydrogen usage. The aim is to deliver low-cost solutions to the UK economy.

NextGen membraneless electrolysers are being developed which are able to use waste water to dramatically reduce the water burden of green hydrogen production.

Green hydrogen is produced using electrolysis and power from renewables like wind and solar. Current electrolysis technologies require highly purified water to be able to produce hydrogen, which is both costly and places demands on the UK’s water supply.

Matt Hindle, Head of Net Zero & Sustainability at WWU, said:

“We are really excited with the outputs from this phase. Using sources like rainwater, storm overflow and wastewater as feedstock we could see many of the operational barriers and costs of green hydrogen production reduced.

“Using industrial process wastewater could also encourage co-location of production sites, using wastewater to generate hydrogen that powers the onsite process itself, as well as increasing resilience in the network by injecting excess hydrogen. This further supports the widescale uptake of low-carbon hydrogen.”

Charlie Newbold, Head of Operations at Hydrostar, added:

“This technology is an industry first, and we’re delighted to be at the forefront of development. As well as achieving impressive levels of green hydrogen production, the project also offers potential for reusing the oxygen produced as a by-product, further enhancing the environmental and financial benefits.

“We’ve already had a lot of interest from industrial customers looking to decarbonise their processes and look forward to the collaboration opportunities ahead.”