GW-SHIFT projects
Spanning the South West England and South Wales, the Great Western Supercluster of Hydrogen Impact for Future Technologies (GW-SHIFT) connects academic, civic and industry partners with the shared vision of maximising the enormous potential of the region’s hydrogen ecosystem. The programme which has secured £2.5 million funding incorporates knowledge sharing secondments, collaborative match-funded impact projects and Sprint projects. The SPRINT projects are short (3-to-6-month) collaborative projects which enable rapid collaboration building with industry and the public sector and provide academics, particularly early career researchers, with opportunities to conduct initial proof of principle studies on new technologies and processes. Successful SPRINT projects will also be able to apply for larger collaborative, match-funded projects as potential follow on.
The second call for SPRINT projects is now open and closes at 5 pm on 16th December 2024. Lead applicants must be a member of research staff employed at a university in the UK and eligible for EPSRC funding. They should have a civic and/or industry partner and the project benefits/impact should be in the GW-SHIFT region.
Four projects have been awarded so far:
1. Led by researchers from the University of South Wales in association with Dragon Recycling Solutions Ltd, this project aims to develop the recycling of battery materials. It will recycle, purify and increase the surface area of battery carbonaceous-graphitic materials which are used as anodes in the batteries. These units cannot be recharged and are usually disposed of and the recovering of these raw materials will therefore have an environmental impact which will contribute to the UK Net Zero strategy. The recycling of these materials will also avoid potential fires in storage facilities as well as in landfills. The project also aims to T]target recycled carbonaceous-graphitic materials for application as chemical support for transition metal hydrides and nanoparticles for hydrogen storage. The project will have a tremendous impact on the development of highly skilled and well-paid jobs in the region in which the industry partner Dragon RS is based, the South Wales Valleys, an economically deprived area.
2. In this project researchers from Cardiff University in association with CCR Energy, CR Plus, Associated British Ports, CELSA Group, Wales & West Utilities, are analysing the techno-economics of the industrial use of hydrogen via ammonia for decarbonising industry in Wales. The analysis will focus on the infrastructure required for the production of ammonia, its transport, storage, and handling at the Port of Cardiff together with its thermal cracking into hydrogen. In addition, the project includes the transport of hydrogen to its final use for steel production at the CELSA Steelworks in Cardiff. The establishment of a green economy with the use of hydrogen will bring innovation and create new jobs along its supply chain and this project will also offer important potential business and job opportunities for the region.
3. Led by a Swansea University based lecturer in association with Hyppo Hydrogen this project aims to produce a prototype portable hydrogen storage unit, whilst running trials across South Wales. The collaboration between Swansea University and Hyppo Hydrogen solution developed whilst rolling out the nascent hydrogen economy across Swansea Bay and running wider trials of Hydrogen vehicles and equipment across South Wales. This has seen multiple trials supported by this collaboration including hydrogen bus trials, community car schemes and portable power equipment. The cost, accessibility and manoeuvrability of the hydrogen storage tanks was highlighted as a key barrier to the further exploitation of hydrogen portable and this project aims to produce a prototype for a solution to this issue.
4. Researchers from University of Bristol together with Hydrogen Future Industries are exploring the possibility of using LaNi5 (Lanthanum Nickel which is known for its excellent hydrogen storage properties) storage beds for hydrogen storage in vehicles. Researchers will test the use of LaNi5 and the novel bed system in real-world applications with specifically the integration of this technology into the Toyota Mirai hydrogen car. This will enable an assessment of the practical performance and feasibility of LaNi5-based hydrogen storage systems in automotive applications. The project aims to significantly benefit automotive applications, advancements in hydrogen storage technology and could potentially enable longer mileage ranges, faster refuelling times, and a reduction of the overall environmental footprint of transportation systems.