10th May 2016 10:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - ITM Power PLC has teamed up with energy provider Good Energy PLC to explore the best way of using renewable energy to power its hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK, including the ones being launched in London this year.
ITM has some stations already live in the UK and is opening five more hydrogen refuelling stations targeting the London area this year under EU grants and numerous partnerships.
The launch is in preparation for the anticipated growth in the amount of hydrogen-fuelled cars on the roads over the next few years, and ITM will now work with renewable energy provider Good Energy to establish the best way to power those stations.
ITM was scheduled to open a station at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington close to the A316 and A308 trunk roads on Tuesday, but did not mention the launch in its announcement.
Under the deal, ITM and Good Energy will look for the optimal way of using green energy to produce the hydrogen at the refuelling stations, which in turn will be purchased by consumers.
ITM is considering a number of options. Direct coupling could be used, meaning the stations would be directly linked to a renewable power generator such as a solar panel or ITM could go down the more traditional route by securing a renewable energy contract from a supplier, such as Good Energy.
The other option being considered is grid balancing to access renewable power generation. The balancing mechanism is a tool used to balance electricity supply and demand - an important task as electricity, once generated, can not be stored and must be manufactured at the time of demand.
That means network transmission firm National Grid PLC predicts when a discrepancy between electricity demand and supply will emerge, allowing it to either accept bids from generators to increase production or pay generators to reduce the amount being generated.
Grid balancing is becoming even more important as more renewable energy is installed in the UK as it is harder to forecast the levels of electricity generated by assets like wind turbines and solar panels than other power plants as they rely on the weather.
Other issues relate to the unpredictable nature of renewable power generation. For example, wind turbines will continue to generate power at night as the wind continues to blow, but demand at that time plummets compared to the day, meaning there is more chance the electricity is not needed and therefore potentially wasted.
In terms of ITM, the company could arrange for its refuelling stations to produce hydrogen when supply of electricity is in excess of demand, meaning less electricity would be wasted by the grid and ITM would secure a clean power source that can be used to generate hydrogen to be sold at its refuelling stations.
"Utilising surplus renewable energy lies at the heart of the proposition for hydrogen as a clean fuel. We look forward to exploring options for direct renewable energy contracts through collaboration with Good Energy," said ITM Chief Executive Graham Cooley.
Notably, ITM said it would look at grid balancing options but said it would only look at direct coupling or renewable energy contracts under its partnership with Good Energy, which has been formed after the pair signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday.
Three of the stations being launched this year by ITM are covered under the HyFive project, which is part funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and the UK's Office for Low Emission vehicles.
The other two to be launched later in 2016 are covered under a different scheme called Hydrogen Mobility Europe, which is also part-funded by the same European and UK bodies funding the other stations.
Importantly, ITM has not pushed forward with its refuelling stations without working with car makers. ITM can boast relationships with the likes of Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and Symbio FCell, which recently launched the first of their 700 bar hydrogen fuel cell range extender Kangoo vans.
In addition, other companies like BMW and Daimler AG are also developing and launching hydrogen fuelled cars in tandem with the European projects covering the refuelling stations.
One of the stations to be launched later this year will be within a traditional fuel station owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
Overall and to date, ITM has had 16 UK hydrogen refuelling station planning applications approved from 10 different local authorities.
ITM shares were up 4.0% to 14.30 pence per share on Thursday whilst Good Energy shares were up 1.3% to 220.90 pence per share.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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