Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Supergen Hub

The Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (HFC) SUPERGEN Hub seeks to address a number of key issues facing the hydrogen and fuel cells sector specifically: (i) to evaluate and demonstrate the role of hydrogen and fuel cell research in the UK energy landscape, and to link this to the wider landscape internationally, and (ii) to identify, study and exploit the impact of hydrogen and fuel cells in low carbon energy systems. Such systems will include the use of HFC technologies to manage intermittency with increased penetration of renewables, supporting the development of secure and affordable energy supplies for the future. Both low carbon transport (cars, buses, boat/ferries) and low carbon heating/power systems employing hydrogen and/or fuel cells have the potential to be important technologies in our future energy system, benefiting from their intrinsic high efficiency and ability to use a wide range of low to zero carbon fuel stocks. One major drive for the Hub is to contribute to technology development that will help the UK to meet its ambitious carbon emissions targets. We will also link the academic research base with industry, from companies with global reach through to SMEs and technology start-ups, to ensure effective and appropriate translation of research to support wealth and job creation for UK plc, and with local and national government to inform policy development. The Hub will champion the complete landscape in hydrogen and fuel cells research, both within the UK and internationally, via networks, knowledge exchange and stakeholder (including outreach) engagement, community building, and education, training and continuous professional development.

Industrial Impact: The key industry players across the hydrogen and fuel cell supply chain are working closely with us, and many of these have agreed to sit on our Advisory Board. This will ensure communication, relevance and impact of the Hub's research beyond its academic boundaries. Companies who have provided us letters of support for our Hub include those in hydrogen production and distribution (Air Products, ITM, Gasplas), process integration (CPI), the UK's leading PEM fuel cell developer (Intelligent Energy), both of the UK's leading SOFC developers (Rolls Royce Fuel Cell Systems and Ceres Power), a global supplier of materials and catalysts for hydrogen production and conversion (Johnson Matthey), a leading automotive technology company active in this sector (Ricardo), and end users of fuel cell technology (DSTL in the military sector and EADS in aerospace). We will specifically target some of our events at the SME sector, including companies such as Auriga Energy, to help reach out along the supply chain in the UK. The Hub Director (Brandon) has extensive experience in the commercialisation of research in this area, having founded and run Ceres Power, now a 140 person fuel cell company. And we are pleased to note that our industry partners have commited £647,000 of in kind support to our proposal.

Policy Impact: Hub partners cover all key UK regions. This together with the presence of representatives from DECC, UKERC, and ETI on our Advisory Board, and the letters of support from e.g. Low Carbon South West and the Scottish Government, provide the ideal basis for effective use of the Hub's research to inform national and regional policy in the HFC sector. Our white papers will be the primary mechanism through which we will translate the Hub's research into impact for the policy community.

Public and Social Impact: There is great public interest in energy and climate change, renewable energy in particular and, in our experience, in HFC. We will ensure that the public are aware of and engaged with our work. We will build on our white papers to communicate important conclusions at public science events such as lectures at the Darwin Centre in London, and at other national, regional and local events and venues, and via accessible online information and other resources on HFC and related technologies, including those provided by our KTN partners.

Economic Impact: The energy industries in the UK economy represent 4 % of GDP (~UK£60B), 10 % of total investment, 52 % of industrial investment and employ about 173,00 people (UK Energy in Brief, 2011) and the vast majority of the UK's 62M population benefits from the availability of heat, power and means of transport that these industries provide. Hence, even for low growth, there are significant economic and employment opportunities for HFC technologies (including managing intermittent renewable electricity and providing routes to lower carbon heat and transport) as the UK moves to sustainable energy options to meet its demanding carbon budgets. Our Hub will exploit these opportunities, supported by industrial and policy partners, to maximise this economic impact.

International Impact: While our Hub is primarily a UK-based activity all the Hub investigators and industrial partners have wide international links in HFC research (and development) including in Europe, the USA, China, India Japan and S Korea. These are expected to develop and seed future international collaborations. Our impact internationally will derive mainly from the reputation for the highest standards of research excellence that we aim to achieve via our academic outputs and activities, via the research networks that we aim to establish as the Hub matures, and by presentations at the leading international conferences in the field.