Wales & West Utilities has visited a pioneering hydrogen production site in South Wales to assess the adaptions needed to transform the gas network in order to meet the Government’s net zero targets.
The visit to the Protium facility in Baglan Energy Park, Port Talbot, offered senior members of the Wales & West Utilities Executive team the opportunity to see the process of hydrogen production in action.
Earlier this year Protium, the leading green hydrogen company, together with partners, Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, Enapter and the University of South Wales, commenced operations to generate green hydrogen at the site, named Pioneer One.
Commissioning the Pioneer One site marked a significant milestone in building a network of hydrogen generating facilities for the UK’s green hydrogen infrastructure and plays host to the UK’s largest integrated electrolyser – the critical technology that produces low-emission hydrogen from renewable electricity. This 100kW technology has the potential capability of displacing 111 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent to planting 4,440 trees or offsetting emissions of 113 return flights from London to New York.
“We are pleased to be working with Protium and are encouraged to discuss potential support for a number of our forward-thinking hydrogen projects across Wales and the south west of England.
“It has been incredible to see the electrolyser in action and to understand more about the potential benefits of scaling up operations, like Pioneer One, to help us deliver on decarbonisation and net zero targets.
“What is becoming clearer is the need for rapid development and strategic investment in clean energy sites like this to stimulate the demand and production of green hydrogen for business, industry and potentially domestic settings.
“Our visit to the hydrogen production facility has provided added assurances about the future role of green hydrogen in delivering a safe, clean, future-proof, and home-grown energy solution.”
John Constable, Chief Asset and Engineering Officer at Protium said:
“It was a pleasure to host the Executive team of Wales & West Utilities and introduce our hydrogen production facility in South Wales. We had some great discussions on potential collaborations across several projects for both companies, where green hydrogen and distributed production facilities can unlock the delivery of decarbonisation and net zero goals.
“Being able to show the technology in action is vital for helping partners and industries to understand how green hydrogen can be produced at a variety of scales to suit market needs. Our physical asset is a great platform to enable outreach as well as providing electrolyser produced hydrogen for our local markets including transportation.
“By meeting Sarah and the team, we gain an appreciation that businesses in all parts of the energy value chain are keen to see how they can adopt green hydrogen and use it to deliver a safe, clean future.”
Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.
Source: Business News Wales
