The project, which won £164k in funding from the TSB‘s Smart Power Distribution and Demand competition, is due to commence in July 2012 and will last for a year.
ITM Power is collaborating in a partnership which includes the Scottish Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association and Kiwa Gastec at CRE . The project includes preliminary logistical research, system research, creation of a generation model and the simulation of hydrogen production at a single wind farm.
Graham Cooley, chief executive of ITM Power, commented: “ITM Power’s technology is ready at the 1MW level and we are very excited about energy storage using the injection of hydrogen directly into the gas grid. Managing renewables is about harvesting and utilising the maximum amount of energy possible.
“Generating green hydrogen and injecting it directly into the gas main grid is an excellent way of solving the renewable intermittency quandary.”
Mark Crowther, Gastec director and general manager said, “The use of the mains gas grid for clean energy storage is a logical step and Gastec are looking forward to providing our expertise in this area to the feasibility project. There will be a considerable amount of compliance work necessary to make this happen.”