I have been keeping a close eye on Air Products over the last few months as they have been quietly beavering away at a number of different infrastructure projects. Their portfolio ranges from small scale refuelling (such as the refueller at Loughborough University) to large scale renewable energy plants. It is indeed the latter item which has caught my eye recently - with plans to build a new 49MW renewable energy plant in the Tees Valley.

The proposed scheme, to be located at the Reclamation Pond site (adjacent to the North Tees Chemical Complex) near Billingham, will generate renewable electricity for up to 50,000 homes in the North East. It is anticipated that the scheme will create up to 50 permanent jobs and 500-700 jobs during its three-year construction period. The project is currently awaiting planning approval from the local council.

So how does this project relate to hydrogen? - Well the plant also has the potential to generate renewable hydrogen for mobile and stationary energy applications. It is being considered for a demonstration of Waste2Tricity’s fuel cell technology. The Waste2Tricity process involves heating landfill materials to over 5000 degrees Celsius using plasma torches. This produces a syngas composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which can then be passed back to a fuel cell to generate electricity or stored for use by other applications later. In the past the gases produced had been burned in an internal combustion engine (ICE) to make electricity. Waste2Tricity are hoping that by adding an alkaline fuel cell to this process 60% more electricity can be produced than by using an ICE.

You can find out more about Waste2Tricity on their website here: http://waste2tricity.com/

The other recent Air Products item which caught my eye was the announcement of plans to install the country’s first mobile hydrogen fuelling station with dual-pressure fuelling capability. The unit that they have announced will have 700-bar hydrogen fuelling capability and be based in Millbrook Proving Ground. It will also be the UK’s only mobile hydrogen station capable of refuelling buses (provided by a Transport for London initiative).

Interestingly this development sounds very similar to ITM Power's HFuel unit, although the technical specifications are pretty thin on the ground at the moment. You can view the Air Products press release, dated 12th July 2010, here: http://www.airproducts.co.uk/news/2010-07-12.htm