Major funding for hydrogen transport research
The University of St Andrews will build a hydrogen energy industry in Scotland with total investment of £1.2M following £620k funding from Scottish Enterprise’s Low Carbon Challenge Fund.
In collaboration with the University of Strathclyde, the ‘Translating Hydrogen into Action’ project will complement the endeavours of the newly formed Hydrogen Accelerator facility at St Andrews, funded by Transport Scotland.
This project will assist companies throughout the hydrogen supply chain, from fuel cell manufacturers to energy specialists, to create a strong Scottish OEM-base and is pertinent as Scotland strives to achieve net zero targets and create jobs within the hydrogen sector.
The project will provide a knowledge exchange programme informing companies of recent advances in energy storage technologies as well as access to specialised manufacturing and testing equipment.
The Low Carbon Challenge Fund will allow the project to identify innovation opportunities, provide advice around growth prospects, including relevant funding calls, and serve as a platform for business to business collaboration.
Professor John Irvine, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Hydrogen Accelerator at the University of St Andrews said: “We look forward to working with up and coming companies to bring forward new hydrogen technologies to enable our low carbon future.”
The University of St Andrews is currently developing a new Energy Conversion and Storage Centre, the GENESIS centre, at its Eden Campus.
The ‘Translating Hydrogen into Action’ project will link to this to form the foundation for SMEs to engage with the GENESIS Centre and access University knowhow and facilities to help develop new products.
The ‘Translating Hydrogen into Action’ project builds on wider strategic initiatives resulting from policies such as the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Assessment and Policy Statement (December 2020).
The Hydrogen Assessment highlights the applications of hydrogen-based technologies in transport, industry, heat and whole system approaches within Scotland and the important role hydrogen has in potentially supporting 300,000 Scottish jobs.
The Low Carbon Challenge Fund is a partnership between the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise with total investment of £2.79 million, with £1.39 million from the European Regional Development Fund and match funding from the projects.
The fund was set up last year and provided opportunities for public, third sector and academic institutions to, in turn, develop projects for SMEs to support low carbon innovation and manufacturing capabilities across Scotland.
Issued by the University of St Andrews Communications Office.