We are thrilled to announce the successful funding of 10 innovative research projects under the UK-HyRES Flexible Fund Call, marking a significant milestone in advancing hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels technologies.

These projects represent a broad spectrum of groundbreaking research, each aligned with our mission to accelerate the UK’s hydrogen transition and drive impactful scientific innovation. Collectively, nearly £3 million in funding has been awarded, enabling pioneering studies across multiple institutions and disciplines.

We warmly welcome the researchers and their respective universities to the UK-HyRES network.

Funded Projects

Here’s an overview of the 10 funded projects and their lead researchers:

• Professor Alexander Cowan, Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, University of Liverpool: Stabilizing the AEM-Catalyst Interface (STACI)
• Dr Alfonso Martinez-Felipe, University of Aberdeen: New Materials and Methods for Hydrogen Transportation and Storage: Repurposing the Economy Future of the North Sea (MHYSTIC)
• Dr Alex Walton, University of Manchester: Understanding synergistic effects in Ir-free bimetallic oxide electrocatalysts
• Professor Aidong Yang, University of Oxford: Multi-purpose Exploration of Ammonia Reduction of Iron Oxides to Enable Green Steel and High Purity (MARIO)
• Dr Dawei Wu, University of Birmingham: An Ultra-low NOx Emission Catalytic Burner fueled with Neat Ammonia (UNISON)
• Professor Gerard Fernando, University of Birmingham: Novel low-cost, high-performance opto-chemical hydrogen sensors (OptiSen)
• Professor Jennifer X. Wen, University of Surrey: Ammonia Release Safety Modelling
• Professor Mark Symes, University of Glasgow: Decoupled Electrolysis of Seawater
• Professor Stephen Skinner, Imperial College London: Mitigating degradation and enhancing durability in metal-supported solid oxide electrolysers
• Professor Terence Liu, University of Northumbria: Triple Boost Strategy for Low Energy Consuming Catalytic Ammonia Synthesis (Trimonia)

What’s Next

Over the coming months, we will provide in-depth spotlights on each of these projects, exploring their objectives, methodologies, and expected impacts. This milestone reflects the collective efforts of our academic and industrial collaborators and highlights the innovative spirit of the UK-HyRES community.

Stay tuned as we delve deeper into these exciting projects and celebrate the achievements of our researchers. Together, we are shaping the future of hydrogen technology.

We’re thrilled to announce that our Hydrogen Support Hub, located on Level 4 of Wessex House, is now fully operational, bringing together key players across three major hydrogen initiatives. This marks a significant moment for the future of hydrogen research and development and a proud milestone for all involved. The completion of this Hub brings us closer to achieving our mission of supporting hydrogen innovation and a sustainable energy transition.

A special thank you to our HR team, whose dedication and hard work have been essential in assembling a full complement of specialists across GW-SHIFT, UK-HyRES, and ZENITH. With their support, we’re delighted to welcome this talented team:

• Andrea Edwards – Project Administrator for GW-SHIFT, who ensures streamlined project operations.
• Sophie Hill – Project Manager for UK-HyRES, who drives key project milestones.
• Hannah Dennis – Project Manager for ZENITH, joining us remotely and advancing our hydrogen energy efforts.
• Karen Brooks – Deputy Director of GW-SHIFT, providing crucial leadership and strategic direction.
• Imogen Paige – Project Administrator for UK-HyRES, supporting project coordination and team collaboration.

The Hydrogen Support Hub is not just a physical workspace; it is a foundation for collaboration and innovation. With our full team now co-located, we are set to increase efficiency, accelerate our research, and advance hydrogen technologies for a greener, sustainable future.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible—we look forward to the incredible advancements to come with our team at the Hub!

We’re thrilled to announce that UK-HyRES has been nominated for the prestigious 2024 Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Awards in the Industry category!

Being recognised among such remarkable competition is a fantastic achievement, and we are honoured to be listed alongside leading innovators in the field. The winners will be announced at the Global Awards dinner on 28 November at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel, and we look forward to the results.

For the full list of nominees, click here: https://bit.ly/4f9bmfr

We are pleased to offer a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position at The University of Sheffield, in collaboration with UK-HyRES.

The project will focus on developing innovative solutions for the safety theme, with UK-HyRES co-investigator Prof Joan Cordiner and Dr. Alasdair Campbell
adressing key challenges within the hydrogen economy.

You will collaborate closely with leading experts in the field, working within a supportive research environment and state-of-the-art facilities. This is a unique chance to contribute to research that will play a critical role in the future of energy.

For more details and to apply, please see: https://bit.ly/3UxVlYr

By Dr Louisa Wood (UK-HyRES), Dr Gareth Thomas (HI-ACT), Dr Chris Jones (UK-HyRES) and Dr Mitch Scovell (CSIRO)

Recently, there has been much interest in the role that hydrogen should play in helping society to ‘decarbonise’, particularly in light of the election of the new Labour Government and the likely changes this will bring to UK energy policy. To achieve ambitious national ‘net zero’ targets, it is likely that hydrogen will play an increasing role in powering our economy , and will likely feature more in people’s everyday lives. Possible examples of this include the use of hydrogen in homes, particularly for space and water heating (a scenario which is particularly current), and mobility applications, such as powering cars, buses and even planes. 

What are the social sciences and why do we need them? 

Social scientists are interested in the nature and preconditions for the acceptance of new technologies and policies. It is important to understand how people form attitudes towards technology and policy innovations (such as the use of hydrogen in the energy transition) as public (and wider social) acceptance or resistance to new technologies or policies can affect their implementation or effectiveness. 

The social sciences, which include disciplines such as economics, psychology and sociology, use many different methods, models and theories to better understand human behaviour. The exact approaches that are used depend upon the particular social science in question, disciplinary background and the research question at hand.

Prior research into the social acceptance of hydrogen has varied in its focus and disciplinary approach. Some prominent studies in the field have used survey-based methodologies to quantitatively assess public perceptions of hydrogen from a psychological or sociological perspective (e.g., assessing how people’s attitudes, values or dispositions might affect their overall acceptance of different hydrogen technologies, projects or applications). For instance, prior quantitative research of this kind has found that factors such as the perceived risk of hydrogen technologies and trust in the industry are particularly important drivers of acceptance. 

As the political and industrial focus on hydrogen grows, the likelihood that technologies, projects and policies will interface with members of the public (and other societal actors) increases. This raises the importance of further growth in social scientific research being conducted in this field, as there is still much to learn. 

What are we doing in UK-HyRES and HI-ACT?

Recognising the importance of social acceptance for the success or failure of hydrogen projects in the UK, large-scale research investments, including UK-HyRES and HI-ACT, have adopted an integrated social scientific component to their core work programmes. 

In the context of the UK-HyRES and HI-ACT, our social scientists are utilising a suite of research approaches to better understand how key groups within society will respond to different aspects of a possible hydrogen transition. For instance, the Social Theme of UK-HyRES, led by Dr Chris Jones at the University of Portsmouth, and supported by Dr Louisa Wood and Dr Mitch Scovell, is using a mixed-methods approach to better understand what drives the acceptability and acceptance of different hydrogen technologies among different groups of people (including publics). With a particular focus on emerging technologies, the team have, to date, assessed public perceptions and the perceived risk of geological hydrogen storage, and the use of hydrogen to power aeroplanes. They plan to now focus on business and industry approaches to communicating with publics about hydrogen, and to study the implications of these efforts for the acceptance of these technologies. 

Meanwhile, researchers on HI-ACT (Work Package 4) are examining place-based perceptions of hydrogen use, particularly around industrial clusters. Professor Karen Henwood and Dr Gareth Thomas at Cardiff University are using ethnographic methods and place-based deliberation in order to better understand expert and public(s) visions of the future in areas where hydrogen may be deployed and the contexts in which hydrogen technologies may be deployed. To help scale-out engagement to reach larger publics, Dr Clara Crivallaro is leading the design of novel platforms for online engagement around hydrogen.

How do I know which social scientific method to use?

Differentiating between social scientific methods and understanding how, when and why each should be applied is key to undertaking effective research in an area that is inherently highly interdisciplinary. We provide here a simple schematic that can be used to guide researchers in deciding upon the appropriate approach for their research question, with the aim being to facilitate collaboration between social scientists and other research disciplines. 

Social science is a broad field, but put simply, social scientists study people. This can cover human behaviour at the individual, group (e.g., family) or societal level. Often scientists and engineers may be interested in individual actions, personal decisions regarding purchasing or behaviour which might impact technology adoption, market potential, or patterns of energy consumption. Traditional economics treats individual behaviour as the outcome of rational decisions based on maximising utility based on individual preferences and assuming complete information about the world. This can help us understand how humans might behave in an ideal world, but is not always a very realistic picture of how humans actually behave. For this, it might be more useful to approach researchers from disciplines such as psychology and behavioural economics, who understand individual motivations, beliefs, perceptions of risk and benefit, or trust in providers as well as the heuristics which can undercut rational decision making. 

At the same time, individual behaviour can also be shaped by wider patterns of social life such as cultural values, norms and expectations, economic circumstances and power relations which impact differently on different groups. These factors are difficult for individuals acting alone to change, but shape the forms of action and thought available across groups and societies. This can impact the extent to which specific policies meet with democratic support or opposition, and the degree to which members of society are willing or able to comply with policy or change their everyday practices.

Those with a more individualist leaning often try to incorporate social factors through ideas like internalised norms, while studies of routine social practices or policy change emphasise the role of accumulating individual actions gradually changing established cultural practices and policy over time. Most social science disciplines are thus able to cover a fairly broad spectrum of topics and concerns. However, differences in emphasis and substantive expertise means some social science disciplines are particularly well-suited to particular kinds of questions. The decision tree below is our first attempt at mapping social science disciplines onto specific questions engineers often have about individuals and society. More individualistically focussed disciplines appear closer to the top of the tree, while more socially focused disciplines appear lower down.

This is a highly simplified picture. Humanities disciplines such as politics, law, philosophy, and expertise across the arts also have important insights about how members of society may engage with or make sense of low carbon technologies, which more traditional social science approaches may miss. In reality, most social science disciplines have something to say about potential markets for low carbon technologies, changes in perception, policy or behaviour, and scholars within each discipline may draw on theory or findings from another to help address specific questions so it is always worth speaking to social scientists across different disciplines to help narrow down your questions and define an approach best suited to addressing them.  

Prof Tim Mays, Principal Investigator of UK-HyRES, gave an evening public lecture on Hydrogen and Net Zero at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) in the City of Bath on Thursday 3 October 2024. 

The lecture was well attended in person and online and was followed by some excellent questions from the audience.  Many thanks to the BRLSI, which celebrates its bicentenary this year, and especially to Prof Stuart Reynolds who chaired the lecture.  A recording of the lecture will be available on the BRLSI’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BathRoyalLiteraryandScientificInstitution) in November.  Prof Reynolds (bssser@bath.ac.uk) would be pleased to forward Tim’s slides (in *pdf format) on request.

UK-HyRES colleagues Prof Tim Mays, Dr Huimin Zhang, and Prof Qiong Cai attended an EPSRC meeting in Leeds on 24th September 2024, focused on Transport Decarbonisation.

The event brought together researchers from other major EPSRC projects to explore this crucial topic, including Prof Sara Walker, director of our partner hub HI-ACT. These discussions will play be key in shaping future EPSRC investments in decarbonising transport.

Prof Shanwen Tao, UK-HyRES Co-Director and Alternative Liquid Fuels lead, represented UK-HyRES at the 3rd Symposium for Ammonia Energy in Shanghai, China. The event attracted over 500 participants, including 160 international attendees, bringing together global clean energy leaders.

Prof Tao reported that the Chinese government is focusing heavily on hydrogen and ammonia as key components of its clean energy strategy, with several green ammonia demonstration projects already underway. The symposium underscored the growing role of hydrogen and ammonia in the global transition to a more sustainable energy future.

Amazing PhD Opportunity!We are excited to offer a fully funded PhD position in Hydrogen Storage in Liquid Organic Carriers (LOHC), conducted at the University of Bath in collaboration with UK-HyRES.

This project will focus on innovative solutions for hydrogen storage, a critical component of the emerging hydrogen economy. How can LOHCs help us build a more sustainable energy system and how do we ensure that hydrogen storage technology supports the transition to net zero?You will be mentored by Dr Alfred Hill and Dr Simon Freakley,

contributing to the development of cutting-edge hydrogen technologies that will play a key role in the global energy transition.For further details and to apply, please see: https://bit.ly/3ZvEuZy

Ballard Power Systems has revealed plans to cut jobs, streamline operations and potentially scrap its Chinese joint venture to save over 30% in spending as it prepares to weather a slow-down in the hydrogen market. The Canadian fuel cell firm said the measures were necessary to reduce corporate spending and maintain balance sheet strength as the adoption of hydrogen technology continues to face delays.Germany plans to hold an exclusive AUD $660m ($444m) auction for green hydrogen imports into Australia its H2Global funding mechanism.bp and Iberdrola have reached a final investment decision (FID) on a 25MW green hydrogen project at the British oil major’s Castellón refinery in Spain, seemingly rolling back on original plans to build an initial 200MW.Green hydrogen is unlikely to reach cost parity with fossil fuels soon, and those benefiting from oil and gas profits will need to bear a significant portion of the financial burden.That’s according to  Kim Hedegaard, CEO of Power-to-X at Topsoe, who told H2 View that the discussion must move beyond blaming the so-called green premium for delaying green hydrogen off take.