Cornwall is set to join the green hydrogen race.
The Government is drawing up a plan to create a “world-leading” hydrogen market that can help meet its goal to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Aerospace Cornwall is playing its part by awarding grant funding to local companies building the future of energy. One such company is PV3 Technologies, which has received the finance to help support new research and development projects in green hydrogen.
Using the funding, PV3 will develop next generation coatings for PEM water electrolysers, a key component used in this green technology. The coatings mean that PV3 is able to reduce the cost of hydrogen production by increasing both energy efficiency and lifetime of the electrolyser; which enable water to be split into oxygen and green hydrogen – without the production of carbon dioxide.
This important work will help reduce cost for British aerospace manufacturers and support growth of the green hydrogen industry. With news of the world’s first zero-emission, hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft models built by Airbus and ZeroAvia’s first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight, PV3 and Aerospace Cornwall are eager to ensure green hydrogen can become cost competitive with other renewable fuels, to support the uptake in the aerospace sector.
This funding builds on previous Aerospace Cornwall support, with which PV3 developed coatings for advanced fuels used in UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).
Dr David Hodgson, PV3 Technologies CEO, said: “The EU’s hydrogen strategy lays out the potential for nearly 50 GW of green hydrogen capacity by 2030, and we need to support our customers by matching their demand and innovating to further reduce the overall cost of the technology. This project lays the foundations for our next generation coating product, with a significant cost reduction over current coatings. We already have the manufacturing capacity to produce coatings for 2GW of electrolyser capacity per year, but with product and production innovation we can increase that significantly.”
Gail Eastaugh, programme director at Aerospace Cornwall, added: “There is a huge opportunity in green hydrogen. The UK is already in the race with a big project happening in the Humber but it’s amazing for Cornwall to be part of this with local funding for a local company like PV3 who will and are already doing incredible things for the aerospace industry. We’re looking forward to seeing how their work develops.”
