A Staffordshire-based university is leading a new programme designed to support and foster the creation of a new hydrogen economy in the Midlands. The HyDEX project brings Keele University together with multinational businesses and SMEs from across the region in an Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) which will work to accelerate innovation in hydrogen, build markets and the supply chain and support the skills needed for the new hydrogen economy and ecosystem. The aim of the programme is to address the challenge of building a thriving new business, industrial and manufacturing sector in hydrogen – where very little currently exists. It 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. Keele has already played a crucial role in demonstrating the potential of hydrogen, with the landmark HyDeploy project which ran on campus during 2020. The project, run in partnership with Cadent, saw hydrogen successfully blended into Keele’s campus gas network to show the potential for hydrogen to significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with domestic and business heating and cooking. To read more about it, click here.
