As part of a larger £90 million (US$117 million) package of awards to cut carbon emissions in industry and homes, the UK is awarding £28 million (US$36.5 million) to five demonstration phase projects for low-carbon hydrogen production.

The Dolphyn project showcases a floating semi-submersible design with an integrated wind turbine, PEM electrolysis and desalination facilities.

The hydrogen projects receiving funding are:

1. Dolphyn. Led by Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM).
   The project concerns the production of hydrogen at scale from offshore floating wind in deep water locations. It combines abundant UK offshore wind power with seawater to produce green hydrogen which can be piped directly to shore. The concept consists of a large-scale floating wind turbine (nominally 10 MW) with an integrated water treatment unit and electrolyzers for localized hydrogen production. This funding will enable the detailed design of a 2 MW prototype system.

   Contract value: £3.12 million (US$4.1 million)

2. HyNet – low carbon hydrogen plant. Led by Progressive Energy Ltd.
   A consortium of Progressive Energy, Essar, Johnson Matthey, and SNC-Lavalin will deliver the project comprising the development of a 100,000 Nm³ per hour clean hydrogen production facility for deployment as part of the HyNet Cluster, using Johnson Matthey’s low-carbon hydrogen technology which enables carbon capture and storage.

   This technology could lower the cost of low carbon hydrogen by over 20% and has become the basis for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) analysis. This funding will permit further project development including engineering design to deliver a ‘shovel ready’ project.

   Contract value: £7.48 million (US$9.7 million)

3. Gigastack. Led by ITM Power Trading Ltd.
   Gigastack will demonstrate the delivery of bulk, low-cost and zero-carbon hydrogen through ITM Power’s gigawatt-scale polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, manufactured in the UK. The project aims to reduce the cost of electrolytic hydrogen significantly. This funding will enable ITM Power to work towards developing a system that uses electricity from Orsted’s Hornsea Two offshore wind farm to generate renewable hydrogen for the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery. The company will also develop further plans for large scale production of electrolyzers.

   Contract value: £7.5 million (US$9.8 million)

4. Acorn Hydrogen Project. Led by Pale Blue Dot Energy (PBDE).
   The Acorn Hydrogen Project will evaluate and develop an advanced reformation process, including assessment of Johnson Matthey’s low-carbon hydrogen technology. This will deliver an energy and cost-efficient process for hydrogen production from North Sea Gas, while capturing and sequestering the associated CO₂ emissions to prevent climate change. This funding will enable further engineering studies.

   Contract value: £2.7 million (US$3.6 million)

5. Bulk Hydrogen Production by Sorbent Enhanced Steam Reforming (HyPER). Led by Cranfield University.
   The project proposes to develop a low-carbon bulk hydrogen supply through pilot scale demonstration of the sorption enhanced steam reforming process, based on a novel technology invented by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI). This phase of the funding will enable the detailed design and build of the system at Cranfield University.

   Contract value: £7.44 million (US$9.7 million)

The larger investment will also fund four projects to trial advanced technologies for switching industrial production from fossil fuels to renewables—including, but not limited to hydrogen—in industries such as cement and glass production.