As a UK first, Element 2, a UK hydrogen infrastructure business, will purchase hydrogen produced by a new electrolyser using wastewater at Anglian Water’s Milton Road Cambridge water recycling site and supply it to hydrogen vehicles this summer.
Producing green hydrogen while reducing emissions in the water treatment process
The hydrogen will be produced as part of the innovative Triple Carbon Reduction Project – delivered via a partnership funded through Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge. The project aims to reduce carbon emissions during the water recycling process. The integrated electrolyser system is being introduced as part of the water pre-treatment process to generate green hydrogen and oxygen.
It’s anticipated that up to 91kg of fuel-cell-grade hydrogen, suitable for use with hydrogen vehicles, will be generated daily at 100% runtime from July 2023.
Supplying green hydrogen to hydrogen vehicle manufacturers
Element 2 will provide cutting-edge storage for the hydrogen produced at Anglian Water’s Cambridgeshire site and transport it to its network of hydrogen refuelling stations around the UK. From there, the hydrogen will be used to fuel Element 2’s customer base of hydrogen fleet owners and operators and to support hydrogen engine development and trials of new fuel cell vehicles arriving on UK roads. Vehicles that will benefit from the hydrogen include trucks, vans and buses.
Safe and environmentally friendly hydrogen production
Element 2 will partner with Anglian Water to ensure the integrated electrolyser system’s design, installation and commissioning, and location are suitable for the safe and efficient transfer, storage and collection of hydrogen. Element 2 will also collaborate with Anglian Water to quantify the environmental benefits of the trial.
Brendan Bilton, chief technology officer at Element 2, said: ‘This partnership is a significant milestone for hydrogen production using water in the UK and will help accelerate the decarbonisation of trucks and commercial vehicles on the roads. We work with several local suppliers in the UK’s hydrogen sector, ensuring we champion the circular economy with partnerships like the Anglian Water hydrogen production project and establishing flexible supply chains to build the UK’s network of hydrogen refuelling stations and solutions.’
Giulia Pizzagalli, Innovation Projects Manager at Anglian Water, said: ‘We are excited to work with Element 2 to ensure the safe and efficient removal of hydrogen from our demonstration plant in such a novel way. Using a process by-product to aid the decarbonisation of vehicles has real synergy with the objectives of the Triple Carbon Reduction project to reduce the emissions generated through the water treatment process.’
