New Energies, new possibilities

First Minister opens Scotland’s first hydrogen homes

Stakeholders from the community in Levenmouth with First Minister John Swinney. Karen Ritchie from Bright Green Hydrogen (left) and pupils from Denbeath Primary (pictured). The pupils named the street where our demo homes are built ‘Newhaven Street’

• New demonstration homes showcase hydrogen appliances which enable households to cook and heat their homes without any carbon emissions
• Homes are part of H100 Fife, a world-first green energy project which will see hundreds of households switch from natural gas to hydrogen 
• Local residents taking part in project can get hands-on experience ahead of appliances being installed in their own homes later this year
• Opening marks a major milestone for H100 Fife and Scotland’s net zero ambitions

The First Minister John Swinney has hailed the opening of Scotland’s first hydrogen homes as a ‘shining example’ of how the country is leading the way in solutions to tackle climate change. 

The homes are part of gas network company SGN’s H100 Fife project and showcase the potential for hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions in households and businesses across Scotland and the UK.

Located in Levenmouth on Fife’s east coast, the demonstration homes showcase how hydrogen can provide heating and cooking experiences very similar to natural gas. Familiar appliances like gas boilers and hobs are installed in the homes delivering the instant and responsive heat customers are used to, but with zero carbon emissions.

H100 Fife is a world-first green hydrogen project which will see up to 300 households switch to hydrogen for cooking and heating.  Residents involved in the trial can now visit the demonstration homes to get hands-on experience ahead of appliances being installed in their own homes later this year.

The First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, opened the homes alongside SGN’s CEO Simon Kilonback and members of the community.

Expressing his enthusiasm for the project, First Minister John Swinney said: 

Scotland’s net zero future depends on our ability to create innovative solutions to tackle climate change; and the H100 Fife project is a shining example of this ambition.

“These demonstration homes offer residents a glimpse of the role that hydrogen can play in delivering warm and comfortable homes with zero carbon emissions. I welcome this significant milestone in the project’s journey and look forward to its completion”.

Residents who have signed up for the project and those who live locally1 can visit the homes to see hydrogen boilers and hobs from leading manufacturers Baxi, Worcester Bosch, and Bosch Home Appliances. These are the appliances that will be installed in their own homes later this year.

SGN CEO Simon Kilonback with First Minister John Swinney and SGN Future of Energy Project Manager Lorna Archer.

SGN’s CEO Simon Kilonback said: 

SGN is incredibly proud to mark this important milestone for green energy in Scotland with the First Minister. We are working in partnership with the local community and look forward to welcoming them to our demonstration homes.
 

“We believe H100 Fife can act as a catalyst for regional decarbonisation, positioning Scotland at the forefront of the transition to net zero. However, this project is also far more than just a hydrogen for home heating trial and will provide key evidence to support the development of the hydrogen economy, whether that be production, storage, distribution or operations.”

SGN is partnering with Fife College to open the UK’s first hydrogen training facility in the coming months, located just a mile away from the H100 Fife network in the college’s Levenmouth campus. Existing Gas Safe engineers in the region will be upskilled at the facility on how to fit new hydrogen appliances and connect homes taking part in H100 Fife to the new 8.4km hydrogen network which was completed last year.

During the event, the street on which the newly constructed homes are built was officially named ‘Newhaven Street’ by students from local school Denbeath Primary, highlighting historic links to nearby Methil docks.

First Minister opens Scotland’s first hydrogen homes - Hydrogen Central

HyPRO: the road to cost-efficient green hydrogen production

If we are to make the transition to a fossil-free energy supply, green hydrogen produced from renewable sources is indispensable. Producing this hydrogen using electrolysis or plasma technology is still a very expensive process, however. Over the next four years TNO will be working with sixteen Dutch knowledge institutions and over forty companies from the Netherlands and abroad to optimise hydrogen technologies and significantly drive down costs. This will enable the Netherlands to play an important role in developing and producing materials, components, and systems for hydrogen-production technologies.

Improving the speed to market of innovations

HyPRO, funded from the GroenvermogenNL (opens in a new window or tab) (refers to a different website) growth fund, is the largest research project ever undertaken in our country in this field. The consortium, which is being coordinated by TNO, consists of eleven universities and five universities of applied sciences, which are making more than a hundred researchers available. The industry is represented by hydrogen users and producers, as well as by component developers, stack and system manufacturers, and system integrators. Of the 41 companies involved, eighteen have their headquarters outside the Netherlands. International collaboration is crucial if we are to accelerate the development of hydrogen-production technology. Companies from the UK, Italy, Denmark, France, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and the US are contributing financially and in kind to the consortium. Seventeen promising startups from our country are also participating. This means that the entire hydrogen-production and use chain is involved. This should ensure that innovations are embraced by the market much faster.

Optimising technologies

The consortium is focusing on optimising the four common electrolysis technologies AEM, PEM, alkaline, and SOE, as well as plasma as a relative newcomer. Although alkaline as a technology has been around for about a hundred years, there is still a long way to go to perfect it. The other three technologies also each have their own obstacles and imperfections. In the case of alkaline electrolysis, flexibility in particular is the major challenge. The proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolysers widely used in Europe contain PFAS components, or fluorine compounds. Here, the focus is on working with companies to make fluorine-free membranes using new technologies and materials. Solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) is the only technology that functions at high temperatures, which makes the process very efficient, but electrolyser components are subject to rapid wear and tear. Extending the life of components is the big challenge here.

Getting ready for market

TNO previously achieved a breakthrough for PEM electrolysers by reducing the required amount of iridium, an increasingly scarce raw material, by a factor of two hundred. The ambition is to further develop this technology as part of the HyPRO project, together with companies from the value chain, and make it market-ready. Intensive collaboration between the knowledge institutions and companies in the chain will facilitate the transformation of all the envisaged innovations into concrete products and processes much more quickly.

Promising startups

Besides the established parties in the consortium, an important role is also being played by almost twenty Dutch startups, each of which has great ambitions to make its products a success. Their chances are enhanced thanks to the collaboration with the knowledge partners, which allows them to have their innovations tested, but also thanks to short lines of communication between suppliers and manufacturers within the consortium. This will enable Dutch startups to achieve technological breakthroughs and continued growth. HyPRO is about strengthening our country’s knowledge position in hydrogen technology and functions as a breeding ground for new business activity and innovative products.

HyPRO: the road to cost-efficient green hydrogen production - Hydrogen Central

SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a significant move towards a more flexible and dynamic green hydrogen market, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a global leader in comprehensive hydrogen solutions for the green hydrogen economy, has introduced the first-ever spot pricing program for liquid green hydrogen, marking a major step forward in the industry.

Hydrogen buyers now have the freedom to purchase liquid green hydrogen from Plug’s production plants on-demand and without the limitations of long-term take-or-pay agreements. The flexibility provided by this new spot market allows customers like retailers, industrial manufacturers, and power plant operators to optimize their hydrogen sources efficiently, reacting swiftly to fluctuating energy demands without being tied down by long-term contracts.

In an early sign of success, Plug has entered into spot pricing agreements with several key industry players. Among these, a spot agreement with one of the largest industrial gas companies underscores widespread industry endorsement. Looking forward, the ripple effects of this innovative pricing model could redefine supply dynamics and cost structures across the entire green hydrogen ecosystem.

Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power, said :

Our pioneering spot pricing program is a testament to Plug’s commitment to customer-centric innovation,

“By adapting to market demands in real-time, we are not only enhancing the accessibility and affordability of green hydrogen but also accelerating its adoption across various sectors.”

Each Thursday, S&P Global Platts will publish a price for the following week based on Plug’s supply and demand at the current time. Customers must have a spot agreement in place with Plug. If customers want to purchase hydrogen at the published price, Plug will execute a transaction agreement to accept a customer tanker at one of its plants for a fill.

All Plug operating plants in Woodbine, Ga., Charleston, Tenn., and St. Gabriel, La., with a combined liquid hydrogen production capacity of approximately 45 tons per day, participates in the spot pricing program. Plug, the third-largest producer of liquid hydrogen in North America, is the only producer of liquid green hydrogen on a commercial scale.

Plug President Sanjay Shrestha, added :

As our hydrogen demand experiences peaks and valleys, our unique spot pricing initiative will allow us to run our plants more efficiently, maintaining economies of scale and scope, and ultimately, maximizing return on capital investment,

By spearheading this transformative change, Plug solidifies its leadership in the green hydrogen ecosystem while contributing significantly to the global market for sustainable and renewable energy solutions.

Marsh explained,

We believe this initiative will increase trust and transparency in the industrial hydrogen market,

“In five years, we anticipate most buyers will tap into the spot market to benefit from the flexibility it offers them.”

Plug Launches Industry's First Spot Pricing for Green Hydrogen - Hydrogen Central

ITM has been contracted by a European energy company to jointly develop a standard design configuration for a 10-MW green hydrogen production plant.

The design will combine two of ITM’s NEPTUNE V plug-and-play 5-MW containerised electrolyser systems, utilising the company’s TRIDENT stack technology.

This plant design is intended to be deployed in several projects across the UK, which has ambitious targets for producing green hydrogen, with the aim of achieving 6 GW of installed capacity by 2030, aided by the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HAR).

Dennis Schulz, ITM CEO, said: “This agreement with yet another large-scale European energy company further cements NEPTUNE V as the clear leader in its class. The 10-MW configuration will allow our customer to deploy projects rapidly across the UK.”

Source:   Hydrogentechworld