The project will join up industry players, backed by BEIS, the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Clean Hydrogen Innovation Programme (CHIP) aims to speed up deployment of clean hydrogen by reducing end-to-end cost through technical innovation, so that it becomes cost competitive with conventional alternatives.
Clean hydrogen is defined as hydrogen that is produced with a low level of greenhouse gas, for example using surplus renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis.
The model used for this accelerator will follow the same approach as other collaboration innovation programmes run by the Carbon Trust, including the Offshore Wind Accelerator which has helped to reduce the cost of offshore wind.
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CHIP will target technology innovation at components where industry identify there is the highest cost reduction potential.
“This new clean hydrogen accelerator fills a gap in the current innovation landscape by focusing on stimulating the supply chain,” said Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, chair of The Carbon Trust. “It will play a vital role in ensuring the UK can reach its Net Zero targets.”
The first phase of CHIP will focus on carrying out an innovation needs assessment to identify key priorities for its initial work. Based on this information, the second phase will focus on addressing these issues by stimulating the supply chain through competitive innovation calls. CHIP will receive initial funding from BEIS alongside contributions from industry participants.
The Carbon Trust is calling for the industry to engage with the programme now to help collaborate and shape the plan to develop clean hydrogen solutions.
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