SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH APPLIED TO CLEAN HYDROGEN (SCRATCH)

By 2050, it is expected that the hydrogen economy will play a significant role in the UK energy portfolio. The hydrogen economy is gradually emerging but the supply chain of companies producing hydrogen, distributing it, utilising and marketing it has not yet been established. Hydrogen mini-economies exist on petrochemical sites, and the objective of this project is to spread these more generally across the country, starting with Birmingham University campus. This project will focus on 20 companies which produce components for the hydrogen economy, which is viewed as three linked technologies:- hydrogen from biomass; hydrogen distribution and storage; and hydrogen utilisation by fuel cell chp. The project will produce new research results to facilitate the hydrogen economy, overcoming economic and technical barriers. If this project were successful, then up to half the UK fuel bill could be saved, emissions much reduced and the need for large power stations minimised.