UK-HyRES: Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Alternative Liquid Fuels
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF BATH
Department Name: Chemical Engineering
Abstract
A thriving, low carbon hydrogen sector is essential for the UK's plans to build back better with a cleaner, greener energy system. Hydrogen has the potential to reduce emissions in some of the highest-emitting and most difficult to decarbonise areas of the economy, which must be transformed rapidly to meet Net Zero targets. To achieve this, large amounts of low carbon hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels will be needed. These must be stored and transported to their point of use. There remain significant research challenges across the whole value chain and researchers, industry and policy makers must work collaboratively and across disciplines to drive forward large-scale implementation of hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels as energy vectors and feedstocks.
The flagship UK-HyRES hub will identify, prioritise and deliver solutions to research challenges that must be overcome for widespread adoption of hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels. It will be a focus for the UK research community, both those who are already involved in hydrogen research and those who must be involved in future. The UK-HyRES hub will provide a network and collaboration platform for fundamental research, requiring the combined efforts of scientists, engineers, social scientists and others. The UK-HyRES team will coordinate a national, interdisciplinary programme of research to ensure a pipeline of projects that can deliver commercialisation of hydrogen and alternative liquid fuel technologies that are safe, acceptable, and environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, de-coupling fossil fuels from our energy system and delivering greener energy. We intend that, within its five-year funding window and beyond, UK-HyRES will be recognised internationally as a global centre of excellence and impact in hydrogen and alternative liquid fuel research.
The flagship UK-HyRES hub will identify, prioritise and deliver solutions to research challenges that must be overcome for widespread adoption of hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels. It will be a focus for the UK research community, both those who are already involved in hydrogen research and those who must be involved in future. The UK-HyRES hub will provide a network and collaboration platform for fundamental research, requiring the combined efforts of scientists, engineers, social scientists and others. The UK-HyRES team will coordinate a national, interdisciplinary programme of research to ensure a pipeline of projects that can deliver commercialisation of hydrogen and alternative liquid fuel technologies that are safe, acceptable, and environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, de-coupling fossil fuels from our energy system and delivering greener energy. We intend that, within its five-year funding window and beyond, UK-HyRES will be recognised internationally as a global centre of excellence and impact in hydrogen and alternative liquid fuel research.
Organisations
- UNIVERSITY OF BATH (Lead Research Organisation)
- Western Gateway (Project Partner)
- UK Energy Research Centre (Project Partner)
- GKN Aerospace - Filton (Project Partner)
- National Gas Transmission PLC (Project Partner)
- CENTRICA PLC (Project Partner)
- Glass Futures Ltd (Project Partner)
- Ceres Power Limited (Project Partner)
- Scottish Hydrogen& Fuel Cell Association (Project Partner)
- HIGH VALUE MANUFACTURING CATAPULT (Project Partner)
- West of England Combined Authority (Project Partner)
- Fluor Limited (Project Partner)
- Health and Safety Executive (Project Partner)
- Wales & West Utilities (Project Partner)
- Angel Trains Ltd (Project Partner)
- INEOS TECHNOLOGIES LTD (Project Partner)
- UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (Project Partner)
- Siemens Energy (Project Partner)
- Supercritical Solutions Ltd (Project Partner)
- Johnson Matthey (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- SCHLUMBERGER CAMBRIDGE RESEARCH LIMITED (Project Partner)
- National Nuclear Laboratory (Project Partner)
- SP Energy Networks (Project Partner)
Publications
Butler C
(2024)
Hydrogen storage capacity of freeze cast microporous monolithic composites
in Materials Advances
Hoseyni S
(2024)
Mitigating risks in hydrogen-powered transportation: A comprehensive risk assessment for hydrogen refuelling stations, vehicles, and garages
in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Hoseyni S
(2024)
A novel framework for quantitative resilience assessment in complex engineering systems during early and late design stages
in Process Safety and Environmental Protection
Ireland K
(2025)
Enhancing safety in nuclear-powered water electrolysis for low-carbon hydrogen production: A process safety approach
in Next Energy
Kim S
(2024)
Technoeconomic characterisation of low-carbon liquid hydrocarbons production
in Energy
Kim S
(2025)
Economic feasibility of low-carbon ethylene, propylene and jet fuel production
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Masoudi M
(2025)
Ultralow Overpotential in Rechargeable Li-CO2 Batteries Enabled by Caesium Phosphomolybdate as an Effective Redox Catalyst.
in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
Ozkan S
(2024)
A New Approach to Fuel Cell Electrodes: Lanthanum Aluminate Yielding Fine Pt Nanoparticle Exsolution for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
in Advanced Energy Materials
| Description | UK-HyRES is the UK's national research hub for hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels (ALFs). Now halfway through its 5 year programme, the Hub has established itself as a major centre of excellence, delivering scientific advances, industry partnerships, and national leadership in the transition to clean energy. Despite the unexpected retirement of founding Director Prof Tim Mays, the Hub continues to perform strongly under the new Project Lead Prof Chris Brace. STRATEGIC ACHIEVEMENTS • Built a 17 university, 56 researcher national hydrogen research community. • Secured £9.46M in leveraged industry and partner funding, almost matching the original £10M EPSRC investment. • Delivered more than a dozen high quality academic papers, international partnerships, and strong engagement with UK government departments (DESNZ, DfT, DBT). • Developed a strong Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network and supported significant career progression across the Hub. TECHNICAL PROGRESS UK HyRES research is organised into four Technical Themes and four Cross cutting Themes. TECHNICAL THEMES 1. Hydrogen Production o Advances in catalysts and electrodes for more efficient electrolysers. o Collaborations with Ceres Power, SGN, Fraunhofer, and others. 2. Storage & Distribution o Breakthrough work on solid state hydrogen storage and aviation liquid hydrogen. o New hydrogen labs and PhD programmes established at Bath. 3. End Use o Progress on ammonia cracking, NOx reduction, and hydrogen applications for steel, cement, aviation, maritime, and heavy vehicles. o Multiple new industrial and international collaborations. 4. Alternative Liquid Fuels (ALFs) o Significant advances in electrochemical green ammonia synthesis with 300 hour stable operation. o Ongoing work with SLB Cambridge and international expert groups. CROSS-CUTTING THEMES • Economic: Technoeconomic modelling of electrolysers, ammonia, and purification processes. • Environmental: Life cycle assessment (LCA) of hydrogen systems and regional decarbonisation projects (e.g., South Yorkshire). • Social: Public attitude surveys and stakeholder focus groups examining acceptance of hydrogen storage, pipelines, and aviation. • Safety: Risk assessments for hydrogen transport, refuelling, pipelines, and nuclear powered electrolysis; safety workshops and training. Flexible Funding Programme Ten Flex Fund research projects are underway, accelerating innovation in: • catalyst durability, • seawater electrolysis, • green ammonia synthesis, • hydrogen for green steel, and • solid oxide electrolyser technology. Lessons learned include the need for faster peer review, automated tracking, balanced workloads across themes, and improvements to reviewer diversity. GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP The Hub has implemented a strengthened leadership structure at the University of Bath, with responsibilities distributed across experienced senior academics. Governance boards (Directors', Management, Research, Strategic Advisory Board) continue to operate effectively. NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP • Policy engagement through DESNZ, DfT, DBT, and parliamentary visits. • Joint UK German workshops, embassy visits, and collaborations with Fraunhofer, Max Planck, and Helmholtz. • Co-hosted Global Hydrogen Futures 2025, linking UK researchers with Canada, the US, and Australia. |
| Exploitation Route | Strengthened coordination through a proposed UK Hydrogen Research & Innovation Council, AND Long-term UK investment of at least £100M over 10 years to maintain international competitiveness. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Construction Energy Environment Transport |
| URL | https://ukhyres.ac.uk/ |
| Description | SUMMARY OF IMPACT The UK-HyRES Hub has delivered clear economic, societal, industrial, and academic impacts during the first half of the award. The programme has successfully grown a coordinated national hydrogen research community, influenced industrial strategy and regional planning, contributed evidence to government policy processes, and produced new multidisciplinary research areas with long term national relevance. ECONOMIC IMPACT The award has generated substantial economic benefit through securing £9.46M leveraged funding from industrial and strategic partners, amounting to 94.5% of the initial EPSRC investment. This reflects strong industry confidence in Hub research and demonstrates direct economic pull through. Industrial partners-including Ceres Power, GKN Aerospace, Air Products, Innospec, NIST, and SLB Cambridge-are working with Hub researchers on electrolyser durability, aviation liquid hydrogen, and ammonia combustion, creating routes to commercial adoption. Regional economic planning has also been influenced through contributions to the State of Hydrogen in South Yorkshire analysis and collaboration with the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre. SOCIETAL IMPACT The Hub has delivered new public attitude evidence on geological hydrogen storage, hydrogen pipelines, and ammonia/hydrogen use in aviation. This work has directly informed the EMStor deep geological hydrogen storage project, shaping decision making and contributing £20K in support to the Hub. Public facing engagement, including workshops, podcasts, blogs, and university industry policy events, has increased public understanding of hydrogen's risks, benefits, and role in Net Zero. The Hub has also contributed to broader societal and policy discourse through DESNZ Teach Ins, the British Embassy Berlin parliamentary debate, and expert roundtables on industrial decarbonisation. PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND THIRD SECTOR IMPACT Findings from the award are influencing multiple sectors: • Public sector: Engagement with DESNZ, DfT, DBT, and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles has supported government work on industrial decarbonisation, hydrogen transport, and system integration. Hub researchers contributed to the Royal Academy of Engineering / Royal Society hydrogen safety work, informing emerging UK guidelines. • Private sector: Industrial partners are actively applying research insights to product development, including catalyst optimisation, cryogenic hydrogen systems, ammonia burner retrofits, and seawater electrolysis demonstrator design. • Third sector: Collaboration with regional sustainability organisations supports local decarbonisation efforts, and public communication platforms (e.g., Camargue podcasts) disseminate findings widely. CHALLENGES OVERCOME A major challenge was the unexpected early retirement of the founding Director, which posed risks to continuity. This was successfully mitigated through the establishment of a distributed leadership team at the University of Bath and appointment of a new Project Lead and Director, ensuring resilience and operational stability. Additional challenges included the administrative complexity of the first Flex Fund call (review delays, workload imbalances, anonymous review processes) and the difficulty of integrating technical and socio economic disciplines. These were addressed through governance adjustments, improved coordination between themes, and lessons learned to streamline future calls. ACADEMIC IMPACT & NUCLEATION OF NEW RESEARCH AREAS The Hub has created one of the UK's largest coordinated hydrogen research communities, linking 17 universities and more than 50 researchers. Research activities have nucleated several emerging academic areas, including: • Electrochemical green ammonia synthesis, supported by new catalyst systems, long term stability studies, and co funded PhDs. • Socio technical research on geological hydrogen storage, combining psychological, environmental, and engineering expertise. • Low NOx ammonia combustion, driven by cross institutional catalyst development and industrial engagement. • Holistic hydrogen safety assessment, integrating HAZOP, LOPA, human factors analysis, and CFD modelling. • Integrated technoeconomic-environmental modelling, advancing whole system evaluation of hydrogen pathways. The Hub has also contributed significantly to career development, including the promotion of the Social Theme Lead to Professor of Environmental Psychology, with UK-HyRES participation cited as a key factor. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2025 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Transport |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Title | A New Approach to Fuel Cell Electrodes: Lanthanum Aluminate Yielding Fine Pt Nanoparticle Exsolution for Oxygen Reduction Reaction (dataset) |
| Description | |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/datasets/a-new-approach-to-fuel-cell-electrodes-lanthanu... |
| Title | A fast ceramic mixed OH-/H+ ionic conductor for low temperature fuel cells |
| Description | The dataset include most of the original files for plots and tables in this article |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/dataset/A_fast_ceramic_mixed_OH-_H_ionic_conductor_for_... |
| Title | Improving the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Exsolved Cobalt Nanoparticles on Titanate Perovskite Catalyst (dataset) |
| Description | The attached data files underpin the publication "Improving the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Exsolved Cobalt Nanoparticles on Titanate Perovskite Catalyst". The following file types and formats are included: - The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area files: .XLS (can be opened with Excel) - X-ray diffraction files: .xrdml (proprietary format) and .txt (can be opened with a text editor) - Scanning electron microscope files: .tif - Transmission electron microscopy: .jpg - OER performance data files: .par (proprietary format) and .cor (can be opened with a text editor) and .z (can be opened with a text editor) More details on the software required are provided in the notes.txt file. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/datasets/improving-the-oxygen-evolution-reaction-exsolved-... |