Electrolyser Technology for NeRV

Call
ICA-24-14
Electrolyser Technology for NeRV

The Opportunity

The objective of this Opportunity is to shortlist the submissions that best answer the brief, with the aim of attending a presentation day with the EIC Industry Partners, where it can be discussed in greater detail with a technical panel.

The EIC welcomes submissions from individual companies or companies working in collaboration with each other.

 

What is the problem?

The UK government aims to significantly increase the production of low-carbon hydrogen as part of its commitment to a sustainable energy future. The target is to increase capacity to 10GW by 2030, with at least half of this produced by electrolysis. This includes a goal of having 1GW of electrolytic hydrogen either operational or under construction by 2025.

Efficient electrolysers are crucial for achieving cost-effective, large-scale green hydrogen production to meet both domestic and global demand. Research has highlighted the urgent need to accelerate the development of next-generation electrolyser technologies to fulfill this demand.

The Net Zero Research Village (NeRV), a facility owned by Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is at the forefront of this effort, conducting cutting-edge research in hydrogen and whole energy systems. This facility, equipped with a solar farm, battery energy storage system, hydrogen blending capabilities, and various purpose-built test properties, serves as an ideal environment for developing and demonstrating innovative electrolyser technologies.

Previous research conducted at the site has included the use of both bottled and trailer mounted hydrogen, with the team now looking to progress to on-site production to enable further research and demonstration of the end-to-end hydrogen system. It is envisaged that this further research will serve as crucial evidence for future hydrogen policy decisions.

 

Preferred Output

Innovators, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and technology developers are invited to collaborate with the NeRV team to provide or develop electrolyser technology. All Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) will be considered, with NeRV providing the perfect test facility pilot or prototype stages.

The NeRV team is committed to working with both advanced and early-stage manufacturers and innovators to meet an on-site generation capacity of at least 100 kW. It is acknowledged that some manufacturers may have preferred integrators for their products, while others may have little to no experience integrating their designs on the 100 kW+ scale. With this in mind, the team are willing to consider novel stack technologies and support their integration on-site through collaboration with experienced integrators.

The output of this call for innovation is to identify suitable technology provider(s) that can demonstrate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of electrolytic hydrogen production with an aim to accelerate hydrogen adoption, improve stakeholder perception and influence policy decisions.