Loughborough to play key role in new programme which puts the Midlands at forefront of hydrogen innovation

Loughborough University experts are part of a new programme designed to support, foster, and accelerate the hydrogen economy in the Midlands.

The Hydrogen Development and Knowledge Exchange (HyDEX) programme brings together the university partners in the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), with multinational businesses, SMEs and other partners, in order to accelerate innovation in hydrogen, build markets and the supply chain, and support the skills needed for the emerging hydrogen economy.

The aim of HyDEX is to address the challenge of building a thriving new business, industrial and manufacturing sector in hydrogen, where very little currently exists. The programme will allow businesses to accelerate the development and viability of new hydrogen products and associated intellectual property, while supporting the transition from declining industrial sectors and enabling the training and re-skilling required.

The £4.99m three-year programme is being funded via the Research England Development (RED) Fund scheme, which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It will see the ERA university partners making available their £111m worth of hydrogen facilities, large scale demonstration programmes, and research capabilities to businesses.

This will be supported by the expertise of leading industrial partners in transport, heating and manufacturing technologies, who are also involved in HyDEX. These include Worcester-Bosch and Cadent (hydrogen boilers and gas networks); Intelligent Energy (fuel cells); Toyota (hydrogen vehicles); FAUN Zoeller (heavy vehicles); Cenex, ENGIE (Hydrogen Networks); Progressive Energy, ITM Motive (hydrogen generation and transport respectively); Siemens and ENGIE (hydrogen production and storage).

Loughborough’s involvement in the HyDEX programme is being led by Professor Upul Wijayantha from the Department of Chemistry. Professor Wijayantha is also leading the overall Demonstrator Programme for HyDEX.

Speaking about the project, he said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Loughborough University, ERA partners and the Midlands region, as it will put us in a globally leading position in hydrogen technology innovation. The HyDEX programme is a perfect opportunity to achieve some important objectives that we identified last year when we worked with the Midlands Engine to formulate the 10 points Green Growth Plan for Midlands region.”

Loughborough’s Dr Kathryn North, who leads the Skills programme within the project, added: “HyDEX will work closely with industry and university partners to provide skills training and development opportunities for researchers and industry colleagues. This is a really important aspect to develop alongside the industrial links and technologies and provides strong alignment with the existing ERA Skills programme and the Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure Cities and Energy, both also led by Loughborough University.”

The other universities involved in the programme are Keele (project lead), Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Nottingham and Warwick.

Civic partners such as the Midlands Engine, LEPs, local government and local authorities, will also add their weight to support the creation of a market for low-carbon hydrogen solutions as part of the net-zero transition.

There is also an international dimension to HyDEX, which will facilitate links with growing international markets in countries such as China, Australia and South Korea, where ERA partners have strong connections, in order to build commercial opportunities that reach beyond the Midlands and the UK.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: PR 22/06

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2021 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

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