COMING UP
4 GREEN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 2024: WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON FOR HYDROGEN?
8 THE LINK BETWEEN SEWAGE AND SUSTAINABILITY
16 MANAGING THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF WATER IN AN EVER-CHANGING HYDROGEN ECONOMY
20 DECARBONISING INDUSTRIES: HYDROGEN’S ROLE IN CERAMICS
12 HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE SEMANTICS WHEN IT COMES TO GREEN JOBS?
FOREWORD
“Water management in the East Midlands is becoming an even more important consideration”
Welcome to the latest edition of Hydrogen Industry Leaders, a magazine dedicated to the pioneers and visionaries shaping the future of the hydrogen economy. In this issue, we explore the innovations, challenges, and triumphs of an industry that stands at the forefront of the global energy transition.
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PODCAST: EPISODE 27 EXPLORING HOW ENGIE IMPACT VIEW THE HYDROGEN LANDSCAPE
In this edition, we delve into the latest technological advancements from hydrogen safety, to storage and distribution innovations. We also examine the policy frameworks and market dynamics driving investment and growth in hydrogen infrastructure worldwide.
Our featured articles highlight successful projects and collaborations that are setting benchmarks for the industry. We hear from leaders who are navigating the complexities of scaling up production and ensuring the sustainability of the hydrogen value chain. These stories of determination and ingenuity underscore the pivotal role of industry leaders in steering us toward a greener future.
Floyd March Editor f.march@peloton-events.co.uk
Hannah Wintle Multi Media Journalist
Paul Rose Graphic Designer
Coming as little surprise to most operating in and around Scotland, the launch of the Green Industrial Strategy in September 2024 has highlighted several significant opportunity areas. From wind, CCUS, finances and hydrogen, the opportunities are vast.
It has felt like Scotland has been on the precipice of something huge when thinking about renewables for some years. This new report, alongside a plethora of new hydrogen projects and the announcement that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland certainly adds to this excitement.
“Seizing the opportunity for Scotland to play a leading role in the emerging global net zero energy economy offers a route to creating highly-skilled, wellpaid jobs with economic and social value which will offer opportunities across our country.”
This strategy shows how, with the right focus, support, investment and partnerships, Scottish businesses and workers can innovate, capture new markets, create new jobs and diversify the workforce, solve problems with new products – and sell their expertise to the world.
This strategy shows how, with the right focus, support, investment and partnerships, Scottish businesses and workers can innovate
The transition to net zero creates demand for new goods and services on a global scale. It provides opportunities to build new supply chains, demands new skills and ways of working, and offers a powerful new inspiration for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Speaking in the Ministerial Foreword, Gillian Martin, Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Green Energy explained: “This Green Industrial Strategy’s mission is to ensure that Scotland realises the maximum possible economic benefit from the opportunities created by the global transition to net zero.
“Offshore oil and gas have for several decades been an integral part of Scotland’s economy. However, North Sea production is by every estimate set to decline due to the geological maturity of the basin.
Scotland is competing with other nations to secure investment, build infrastructure and grow globally competitive industries in renewable energy technologies related to net zero.
SUCCESS REQUIRES A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO ENSURE:
f Prioritisation of resources and investment (we should not seek to do everything); • Coordinated policy (connecting energy, climate, and economy goals)
f Partnership working (aligning public institutions, business, industry, investors and academia).
This strategy focuses efforts and resources on specific opportunities, based on an assessment of Scotland’s likely sources of comparative advantage in the net zero economy.
BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS,
THERE WAS AN IDENTIFICATION OF FIVE KEY AREAS IN WHICH SCOTLAND IS INITIALLY WELL-PLACED TO DEVELOP INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC CLUSTERS.
1. Maximising Scotland’s wind economy: making the most of our natural resources and established onshore and offshore wind sectors; building on our first-mover advantage in floating offshore wind to generate clean electricity; participating in global supply chains as well as expanding our domestic supply chain capacity, and seizing opportunities across the offshore wind supply chain.
2. Developing a self-sustaining carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector: building on our geological CO₂ storage potential, expertise in subsea engineering and a highly-trained workforce; enabling low carbon products and aiming to capture a portion of the European market for carbon storage, which is both an economic opportunity as well as assisting our European neighbours to decarbonise;
3. Supporting green economy professional and financial services, with global reach: building on our strengths in high-value tradable services sectors and considering how Scottish Government can support future innovation and growth;
4. Growing our hydrogen sector: building on our comparative advantage of renewable electricity generation to become a leading nation in the production and export of reliable, competitive, sustainable hydrogen, hydrogen products, and related skills and services for domestic decarbonisation, and export to European markets and beyond;
5. Establishing Scotland as a competitive centre for the clean Energy Intensive Industries of the future: Supporting the electrification of our existing energy intensive industries where appropriate, and making Scotland internationally attractive as a location for existing and new clean Energy Intensive Industries which will benefit from our growing capacity in renewable electricity production.
Scottish Government will make maximum use of the various tools and levers we have at our disposal
GENERATING GROWING AMOUNTS OF CLEAN ELECTRICITY WILL, IN TIME, UNLOCK OPPORTUNITIES IN HYDROGEN FOR USE AND EXPORT
The report explained: “Generating growing amounts of clean electricity will, in time, unlock opportunities in hydrogen for use and export and to power the clean energy intensive industries of the future. Consistent with our view of what a modern industrial strategy means, the five opportunity areas span sectors, sub-sectors, and places and require a systems-led approach to delivery.
“For example, growing our hydrogen sector will create opportunities across the hydrogen supply chain from manufacturing, production, end use, transportation and storage infrastructure, to regulatory innovation, standard setting, and exports.”
Similarly, the geography of the energy sector presents distinct economic opportunities for different regions of Scotland, be that as a result of the distribution of natural resources where rural and island areas play a pivotal role, physical proximity to key demand centres in North West Europe, or the existing industrial assets such as our port infrastructure, new Green Freeports and Grangemouth.
In order to realise all of these opportunities, there are growing calls for more coordinated policy. As often seen in the past, policies and frameworks can often operate in siloes to one another. The report built on this, explaining: “Creating an environment for growth Realising the economic potential of these opportunities requires action to create and sustain an environment that supports jobs, trade, investment, and growth.
“Scottish Government will make maximum use of the various tools and levers we have at our disposal, aligning them in order to remove the most important blockers and support the development of most impactful enablers.”
This will see coordinated action aimed at:
1. Supporting Investment, ensuring an investment-friendly ecosystem;
2. Investing in strong research and development foundations;
3. Supporting the development of a skilled workforce;
4. Helping supply chain businesses to seize opportunities;
5. Delivering an agile planning and consenting system;
6. Delivering required housing and enabling infrastructure.
Scottish Government will also work with the UK Government, GB Energy, Ofgem, and the National Energy System Operator (currently the ESO) to ensure that the interests of Scotland are best represented.
There will be a continued pursuit of bilateral and multilateral opportunities to foster a partnership approach with European neighbours, including maximising value from the UK’s association to the EU Horizon programme and seeking to represent Scotland’s position in existing fora such as the North Seas Energy Cooperation.
THE LINK BETWEEN SEWAGE AND SUSTAINABILITY:
TURNING RAF WASTEWATER INTO GREEN HYDROGEN
Waste is an abundant and readily available resource, but its potential to be harnessed for energy is still largely underutilised and unexplored, but with a mandate to decarbonise by 2050, utilising this resource is something that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is actively looking into.
Now, backed by Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) funding, Warwickshirebased SME Wastewater fuels have developed an innovative solution to convert sewage into hydrogen, unlocking potential not only in terms of decarbonisation, but wider positive implications for the MoD and other industries.
Hydrogen Industry Leaders spoke to Paul Glenister, Head of Operations at Wastewater Fuels, to explore the implications this technology might have on decarbonising defence and introducing circular economic systems into MoD bases worldwide.
He said: “The MoD are really pushing for us to develop something that they can take to some of their bases. Now we have this opportunity to work with RAF Digby to put a whole system in, and the intention is to have that up and running in the second or third quarter of next year.”
TREATING WASTEWATER WHILE PRODUCING CLEAN ENERGY
Treating wastewater is essential to protect the environment. Not only does it prevent the damage of ecosystems and pollution of water sources, it also prevents serious illnesses in animals and humans.
Despite this, a staggering 80% of global wastewater goes untreated, and in the UK, the job is costly in terms of energy expenditure, with up to 3% of National Grid energy used for this task alone.
Wastewater Fuels have sought to provide a solution to these problems by developing a system to simultaneously treat wastewater and produce fuel by anaerobically breaking down the organic waste to create hydrogen and treated water.
Following several successful trials, the company’s Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MEC) technology is set to be deployed at RAF Digby’s current wastewater facility, supported by Severn Trent Water and Coventry City Council.
Paul said: “If [MoD bases] can have something that not only treats the wastewater that they’re producing, but also provides them with a fuel, and if they can then combine that with, solar, wind power, hydrolysis, and other forms, then they can become a lot more energy efficient and meet their carbon reduction targets.”
AN INNOVATION THAT CAN BE TAILORED
The technology itself works by utilising naturally occurring electrogenic bacteria to break down organic waste anaerobically.
This is done by submerging stainless steel mesh rods into the wastewater, where microbes consume the organic matter. This matter is then transformed into hydrogen ions, and then into hydrogen gas which is stored within the rod.
While the system has been developed to produce hydrogen specifically, this doesn’t have to be the case, and its versatility means that the technology can be adapted for different use cases and customers.
As Paul explained: “You essentially let those microbes attach themselves to the material that we’ve developed, and they break down the organic waste. That means that we get clean water coming out one end, but as a result of that activity, the microbes produce a gas.
“We’ve developed the materials so that we can make that gas into hydrogen. If we wanted to, we could also make that gas into a biogas, which would be interesting, but hydrogen is a more important fuel for us in the long-term.”
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT, BUDGETS, AND LIVES
Hydrogen specifically is becoming increasingly important to the UK’s decarbonisation efforts, with many industries eyeing the gas as a potential alternative fuel source for their operations.
The same is true for the MoD. Last year, Hydrogen Industry Leaders spoke with Fg Off Tom Peters in relation to a new hydrogen-fuelled charging facility that was installed at RAF Leeming. Speaking at the time, he said that the MoD’s “aspiration to innovate with this fuel source is significant.”
It seems that doing so will unlock a range of benefits for defence, and not all of them are strictly related to decarbonisation efforts.
“The MoD clearly has lots of bases throughout this country,” Paul said. “Those bases all have their own wastewater treatment plants, and ultimately they’re responsible for their own wastewater treatment.
“In the past, they’ll go out to tender to all the different wastewater treatment companies and that contract is worth something in the region of £2 billion.
“So like everybody else, they’re under pressure to reduce costs, meet their targets in terms of carbon emissions reduction, so they also see this opportunity of utilising our technology to achieve those targets. What it also will do is aid all the other bases throughout the world, such as the Falklands.”
The price of diesel can be high when it comes to the MoD’s global bases, Paul explained, largely due to the logistics of transporting the fuel there. The danger involved in obtaining the fuel is also a cause for concern.
If they don’t have to have that risk of transporting diesel and they have something that’s almost self-sustaining, which our system is, then it reduces that cost considerably, but also takes away that risk to personnel.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE?
Looking ahead, Wastewater Fuels are optimistic and ambitious about where this technology could be implemented. Paul highlighted that the system works particularly well in industries with particularly strong wastewater, such as food manufacturing facilities or breweries, meaning there is potential to decarbonise other industries without relying on sewage alone.
For the time being though, the company is assisting in the MoD’s mission to decarbonise the nation’s defence, starting at RAF Digby.
As Paul concluded: “Really there’s a lot of opportunities. Clearly, we’ve got to get this out there. Clearly we’ve got to make sure it works commercially. Clearly we’ve got to make sure that the costs are correct, but the opportunities are out there for us to really try and make the most of.
“In the initial stages, we see the UK as being our main beachhead through the utilities, but thereafter, we can aid MoD where their operating bases are, and humanitarian opportunities. So that’s where the future is for us.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE SEMANTICS WHEN IT COMES TO GREEN JOBS?
The workforce is an oft-discussed barrier when it comes to embracing a green economy and building up the hydrogen sector, and the conversation tends to centre around the industry’s responsibility to attract workers into green roles. However, the language used around ‘green jobs’ and subsequent connotations could be putting workers off.
To understand what these connotations are, and how to reframe the concept of green jobs, Hydrogen Industry Leaders spoke to Christian Calvillo Munoz and Hannah Corbett of the University of Strathclyde, who worked on two IDRIC funded projects that delved into labour supply constraints and the demand for jobs linked to industrial decarbonisation.
Christian, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Energy Policy, explained: “It’s a difficult one because [‘green jobs’] can mean anything and people understand it in different ways. People have negative connotations, thinking that green jobs are not anything to do with industry.”
It became apparent through the researchers’ conversations that people associate net zero with wind farms and solar panels, rather than more traditional industries such as oil and gas, despite ongoing decarbonisation efforts in these industries, too.
People don’t feel it applies to them, basically.”
Echoing this, Hannah, a Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Centre for Energy Policy, added: “One of the things that really stuck out to me is whether it’s useful to call things a green job, because people are doing jobs already that they don’t necessarily perceive as green.
There are a lot of jobs that net zero is going to require, a lot of them in the construction sector. Are those green jobs or are they just jobs?”
THERE ARE MISCONCEPTIONS AROUND ACCESSIBILITY
One primary reason why the term ‘green jobs’ can sound off-putting to some workers is that it sets itself apart in a certain category that many deem inaccessible.
“I think the moment you call it green, you feel that it doesn’t apply to you, or you cannot get into that job,” Christian explained.
For many, the term ‘green’ indicates a certain skill set or greater difficulty level, rendering these jobs inaccessible, but Christian asserted that these jobs don’t have to be seen this way.
“Tradespeople are doing green jobs, they just don’t call it that, at least not now. So you don’t necessarily need extra qualifications, but because they are labelled green, people feel that they’re not for them.”
While green jobs are necessary in the mission to decarbonise industry, perhaps the emphasis should be reframed to focus on the existing skills that are required to get there, many of which are transferable.
For example, workers in the oil and gas sector already possess skills that are essential in a green economy, but they may hold the view that green roles are separate to their experience.
Hannah summarised: “Less energy should be spent on trying to label what a green job is and trying to define it, and more on trying to transition the workforce, and what skills they need.”
Christian agreed, adding that whatever label these skills are given doesn’t detract from their necessity. He said: “[The term ‘green jobs’] was a buzzword, I don’t think it’s as important any more.
“What is important is that you need to create the people and the skills in time to deliver net zero, and so whatever label you want to give it is really not that important. The important thing is that you actually have to get people into the apprenticeships, into the training trajectories.”
ARE GREEN JOBS ‘GREEN ENOUGH’?
On the other end of the spectrum, a concern that is raising amongst younger generations is whether to train in disciplines traditionally associated with fossil fuels. The preservation of the environment is an important issue for the emerging workforce, and so the question becomes not whether green jobs are attainable, but rather whether these jobs are ‘green enough’.
In fact, Christian’s academic colleagues have noticed a shift in attitudes to certain lines of study such as geology and civil engineering: “There is a connotation of geology only being for oil and gas sector jobs.
“[Prospective students] say they don’t want to work in the past, in polluting industries. However, geology will have a lot to do with hydrogen, for example with carbon storage, so there are lots of opportunities for people doing green jobs in geology or similar civil engineering, but they don’t see it that way so it’s a struggle to get people on board.”
As such, Christian argued that there must be a reframing to demonstrate how these disciplines are part of the solution, and that the opportunity for the UK, in Scotland in particular, to be a leading power in hydrogen, is worth exploring.
To bring more people into these roles and bolster nascent industries such as hydrogen, industry must engage younger generations and understand their priorities, concerns, and world views.
“That’s something for industry to think about and how they build that narrative around the role that their industries can contribute to society. Perhaps, rather than focusing on the technical or safety aspects of an industry, it’s talking about the contribution that it will make to the future of sustainability and prosperity in the country,” Hannah said.
CAREER UNCERTAINTY IS A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO FILLING GREEN ROLES
Another significant area of concern was in regard to career certainty, as undergoing training for a green job may seem like a risk if it appears the job market may run dry after a period of time.
The appropriate sequencing of projects could help mitigate this. Reluctance to train for green roles could stem from uncertainty around whether a job is capable of turning into a long-term career if workers aren’t clear on what opportunities are available after one project ends.
This is where the government and industry must step in, as Hannah explained: “For hydrogen and other nascent sectors, it’s about getting final investment decisions. You get industry investing, then you get the government acting. They’re looking at reorienting the apprenticeship levy, so it’s how companies can invest that.”
However the concept of green jobs is framed, whether it is focusing on the transfer of existing skills to emerging industries such as hydrogen to attract experienced workers, or emphasising the importance of certain jobs in the context of the green transition to usher in a younger workforce, Christian summarised by highlighting that the opportunity is there for the taking.
“The problem of green jobs or getting people in supply chains is not only about the supply chain itself, it’s more about the fact that you won’t get to net zero if you don’t get the people, or it will be more expensive, or you will lose economic opportunities. It’s a big opportunity here, but it can be lost, so you might as well take advantage of it.”
Government has got a real coordinating role to understand the sequencing of projects. Their industrial strategy will be really helpful in supporting that process.
MANAGING THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF WATER IN AN EVER-CHANGING HYDROGEN ECONOMY
With the UK recording an average of 1290mm of rainfall in 2023, spanning across a total of 171.5 days where 1mm or more fell; it would be safe to assume that the UK is the perfect place for hydrogen production, where 9L of water is needed for 1kg hydrogen.
However, due to “supply-demand balance issues and climate change” the way the UK retains water from the surface and ground is under continual strain.
Throwing hydrogen production in the mix adds a further dynamic to how water management companies have to consider water in the UK. While nuanced from region to region, the East Midlands is of particular interest when considering the use of hydrogen.
In an attempt to ease the current and potential future issues with water supply to the region, the Anglian Water revised draft of the ‘Our Water Resource Management Plan 2024’ sets out a bestvalue plan for the region and a three-tiered strategy to help solve the problem.
With almost no surplus water available to meet the new water needs of the East Midlands, the WRMP24 had to identify new options for ensuring customers continue to have a safe, resilient water supply whilst providing the best value to the region.
Speaking to Hydrogen Industry Leaders, Geoff Darch, Head of Supply Demand Strategy at Anglian Water explained: “To us, best value is looking beyond cost, providing a benefit to customers and society, as well as the environment whilst listening and acting on the views of our customers and stakeholders.
“This framework identifies the outcomes that WRMP24 should achieve, and the objectives that will help fulfil them. This best value plan framework has been used as the basis for our decision making as we are confident it drives the right outcomes for society.”
WHEN CONSIDERING THIS BEST VALUE PLAN FRAMEWORK, THERE WAS A DEVELOPMENT OF A THREE-TIERED STRATEGY.
1. Make the best use of existing resources, building on industry-leading demand management and using any surplus water available.
2. The progression of the strategic resource options (SROs): the Fens and Lincolnshire reservoirs, that will meet 36% of new water needs, and provide the opportunity for many benefits identified in the best value plan framework.
3. Plans for adaptive future resources, which allows the region to remain flexible to changing circumstances, whilst ensuring a limit on bill impacts to customers by only investing in lowregret solutions.
On this, Geoff explained: “Demand management and using the water that we’ve got more effectively is extremely important. We tend to work very closely with developers with water maintenance as well, to make processes as efficient as possible.
“On the other hand, we’re also looking at how to make existing industry more efficient. Because that’s the thing that’s the first and probably easiest thing that we can do; fix leaks.
As part of the WRMP24 demand management strategy Anglian Water included an innovation fund, the ‘Water Demand Reduction Discovery Fund’. This fund will be utilised to increase the understanding of customer behaviours, recognise the importance of promoting prolonged behavioural change, and explore future water efficiency initiatives.
After the aspirational demand management portfolio has been applied to the supply-demand balance, there is still a significant need for water in the East Midlands
IT IS CURRENTLY ENVISAGED THAT THE DISCOVERY FUND WILL:
f Support research into the long-term effectiveness of demand management interventions.
f Fund rigorously designed trials into the effectiveness of different types of metering, technological and behavioural change interventions over a five-year period.
f Enable the ongoing monitoring of our ‘Enabling Water Smart Communities’ project, answering important questions about how we might encourage new developments to adopt an integrated water management approach and incorporate measures like localised water reuse.
Additionally, minimising the amount of water we lose from our system through leakage is essential. The 38% leakage reduction target recognises this belief, encompassing the maximum leakage reduction that Anglian Water believe is feasible with current technology.
“This ambition will see us initiating a major mains replacement programme from AMP9 onwards, replacing over 8,000km of mains; that’s just over 20% of our network. It comes at a significant cost of over £4 billion.”
SUPPLY-SIDE DECISION MAKING IS ESSENTIAL
After the aspirational demand management portfolio has been applied to the supply-demand balance, there is still a significant need for water in the East Midlands.
As they cannot apply any further demand management savings that are feasible and costbeneficial, Anglian Water feels they must: “Turn to supply-side options to ensure that the water needs of our customers are met.
“The determination of the correct supply-side options is a complex process, and involves an iterative approach, working closely with WRE and the RAPID process, to ensure that a best value plan is achieved for the region and our customers.”
Building on the MCDA approach detailed in the UKWIR guidance, our decision making was conducted using the following nine steps:
The first step was explained in the report as “Structuring the problem by using our problem characterisation, and supply and demand forecasts to establish the scale of the water resource need.”
The second and third steps entail defining best value, and how this would be measured and the third was described as: “Undertaking effective engagement to shape alternative plans with our customers, stakeholders and regulators throughout the development of the plan, with the engagement being used to inform the decisions we make to shape the best value plan.”
Other steps included modelling to develop alternative plans including a least cost plan to benchmark against, testing plans to future uncertainty, so they know and understand how they are impacted by assumptions changing, and applying the best value planning framework to evaluate and compare plans, including the least cost plan and the ‘Best for the Environment (abstraction) plan’.
The final three steps are as follows:
f Step 7: Selecting our best value plan by using the outputs from steps four to six to identify the plan that will provide best value to customers, the environment and society whilst being efficient and affordable to deliver.
f Step 8: Adaptive planning assessment so we understand how easily we can adapt the preferred plan if the future differs from our original assumptions.
f Step 9: Final alignment with regional plans and other water company plans to ensure the best value plans at the regional and water company levels remain aligned.
So while the optimism surrounding net zero and more widely the growth of the hydrogen economy in the East Midlands continues to multiply, there are still some significant decisions and action planning involved in future developments.
DECARBONISING INDUSTRIES:
HYDROGEN’S ROLE IN CERAMICS
As hydrogen continues to be explored as an alternative energy source, its ability to decarbonise various industries is being demonstrated around the globe.
In Italy, Iris Ceramica Group and Edison Next are doing just this, having successfully produced a ceramic slab using a blend of green hydrogen and natural gas in a first for the ceramics industry.
Speaking to Hydrogen Industry Leaders, Iris Ceramica Group said that right from its origins, the group has always considered the issue of environmental sustainability as a priority, and have put ideas, intuitions and innovations into practice, often trailblazing in the ceramic sector for over 60 years.
Today, this same philosophy is manifesting into a commitment to building an even more sustainable present and future, an ambitious challenge which has led to the construction of the world’s first ceramic factory designed and created to run on green hydrogen.
According to the group: “Ceramics are one of the most noble materials found in nature, with some of the world’s most high-performing technical and mechanical properties, but they require highly energy-consuming production processes, due principally to the high temperatures the kilns, which can never be switched off and have to reach 1300°C.
“Considering the specific nature of this manufacturing scenario, having production sites in Italy, Germany and the United States, we continue to invest in research, innovation and sustainable development, supporting our manufacturing activities not only in the creation of pioneering ceramics but also promoting the importance of safeguarding the unique and primordial relationship binding humans and nature throughout the world.
“This principle was already part of the group’s DNA in the 1960s, when Romano Minozzi, Chairman and Founder of Iris Ceramica Group, coined the equation Economy=Ecology, indicating the way to move forward: an economy serving humans and the environment we live in.”
Now, driven by their values, the company is seeking to transition their energy supply and build a new way of doing business, where ethics, growth, and technology are part of the same project focusing on a truly sustainable world.
“In July 2024, with the support of Edison Next,” the group said, “the world’s first green hydrogenpowered ceramics production plant was put into operation and the first 4D Ceramic slab was produced, writing a new chapter in the history of the ceramics industry, making us pioneers of an international, epoch-making change.”
A PARTNERSHIP OF INNOVATION AND CHANGE
Iris Ceramica Group signed their agreement with Edison Next in 2023. Not only did this demonstrate a commitment to achieving the energy transition objectives for the ceramic district - a strategic area of this production sector concentrated between the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia - but also for Italy at large.
“For energy-intensive sectors, decarbonisation means having the courage to rethink processes, intervening in the heart of production systems through the introduction of innovative technologies with the aim of guaranteeing environmental sustainability, as well as the competitive performance of the sector in the international markets.”
PRODUCING THE WORLD’S FIRST GREEN HYDROGEN CERAMIC SLAB
This collaboration and innovation ultimately led to the production of the world’s first 4D technical ceramic slab using a blend of green hydrogen and natural gas, which the two companies announced in July 2024.
Specifically, the slab produced is 3.2 metres long, 1.6 metres wide, and 12mm thick, and stands out for its four dimensions, as Iris Ceramica group explained: “In addition to the three-dimensionality of the material and its veins, crossing the whole thickness of the slab, we find the fourth dimension: sustainability.”
The industrial process being developed in Castellarano is the first concrete result in the process of decarbonising the ceramics industry that Iris Ceramica Group and Edison Next are working on jointly.
Their partnership commenced the second phase of an ambitious project, having started in the second half of 2021 to work on the feasibility study and implementation of the H2 Factory®, developed using the highest design standards suitable for hosting the green hydrogen production system.
Iris Ceramica Group explained that the use of hydrogen in the production process requires special measures, not only in terms of facilities –the kiln engineered to be powered with a blend of hydrogen and natural gas – but also in strategic construction works, including rainwater collection tanks, the photovoltaic system on the roof of the factory, and specific hydrogen production and storage areas. The company has also installed all the hydrogen distribution systems throughout the plant.
The current plant that made this possible includes two temporary electrolysers with a total power of 120 KW, powered by renewable energy. The electrolysers, installed in a container, can produce up to 20 cubic metres of green hydrogen per hour, powering the new, latest-generation “hydrogen ready” kiln with a blend of green hydrogen up to around 7%.
After this initial phase, which is helping to finetune the production process, the H2 Factory® will be powered by higher percentages – up to 50%, in fact – of green hydrogen produced in a cuttingedge, bespoke plant already designed and being implemented by Edison Next.
“We are proud of this achievement, the result of team work within the whole supply chain and a virtuous example of integrated sustainability,” the group said. “We hope that other companies will follow our path, so that we can work as a system and become a driver of change, both nationally and beyond.”
THIS DEMONSTRATION MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE GROUP’S HYDROGEN TAMBITIONS
Iris Ceramica Group added that this first phase aims to study the use of the technology for the production of ceramic slabs using green hydrogen and, at the same time, verify the behaviour of the material during the firing phase, to be able to industrialise the production with green hydrogen with the certainty of assuring the technical and aesthetic excellence and quality that they have always guaranteed.
Now, Edison Next are preparing to install the final system, a plant producing green hydrogen through electrolysis with a capacity of 1 MW and able to produce around 132 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, which will be used to power the kiln with a blend of methane and green hydrogen up to around 50%. Importantly, it is designed to double the production of green hydrogen, which will be able to feed a new 100% hydrogen kiln currently under study.
Iris Cerarmica Group concluded: “H2 Factory® is an eco-innovation initiative that demands a bold, integrated and strategic approach, mobilising our strengths in new, productive ways and encouraging us to adopt a long-term vision based on our founding values, able to tackle the challenges and opportunities with the determination we have always shown, continuing to promote that extraordinary sustainable beauty that ceramics can offer the world.”
4D Ceramics, the material produced at the H2 Factory®, represents the jewel in the Group’s crown, expressing all the beauty and nobility of this natural material, used to serve the high-end furnishing market.
EXPLORING HOW ENGIE IMPACT VIEW THE HYDROGEN LANDSCAPE
Q: It’d be great if you could give us a little introduction about yourself, about ENGIE Impact, and, where you sit specifically in the hydrogen supply chain.
A: We specifically work with large multinational organisations on their decarbonisation transformation. So really, net zero is what we do day in, day out. On the one hand, we work with companies to see how they can achieve net zero; on the other hand, we can also help them implement these solutions.
We mainly work from a perspective of offtake. Another, way which we are involved in hydrogen is that we also part with the larger energy group.
Q: So I guess from your perspective, you can see what the different nuances of hydrogen can fit in. How important is it to look at hydrogen from a systemic point of view?
A: Sometimes we just look at one specific technology and want to find ways in which we want to push it forward. I mean, if we just take a step back and think about why hydrogen, what can we actually use it for?
So more companies are taking net zero commitments. And green hydrogen can be a necessary level to get to net zero. But if the target was, say, 20% reduction or 40% reduction of emissions, probably the whole landscape would be completely different.
And one thing that we have observed is that for me, we are going through a phase where we are going beyond the hype and maybe some unrealistic expectations around hydrogen. Hydrogen, it’s true, can do a lot of things and can be used for many different applications. But it has sometimes been depicted as the new oil.
I think that’s kind of misleading, I personally think we are going through a more lucid assessment phase of what are the challenges, what are the opportunities and where they can make a real difference, for a company’s decarbonisation efforts.
There are a few principles that I think companies should have in mind when thinking ‘Should hydrogen be part of my decarbonisation strategy.’ So working with a lot of, multinational organisations, I think I would summarise a few elements that it’s important to have in mind.
Of course, this will vary company by company, context to context, country to country. First, try to reduce your energy demand as much as you can. Then pursue electrification where you can, green electricity, source it reliably, and then look at how green hydrogen can complement and be the lastmile solution for you.
Don’t forget that green hydrogen in the end is green electricity in disguise. So it’s still green electricity but in a different form. So if you can directly use electricity, just you go directly and use electricity. And the second one is, to treat hydrogen as a precious resource. So just use it where it really makes sense.
So the applications where hydrogen is the - I would say unavoidable - where you are already using hydrogen today as a feedstock or you might use it in the future for feedstock. So think about chemical processes like ammonia steel production. And there is no alternative that green hydrogen really has its place. There are other applications too.
The first one is always to look at, take the systemic perspective of decarbonisation. Do not look at hydrogen in isolation. There is a hierarchy of solutions that companies should follow.
Of course, there is to say, green heat. So production of heating for industrial processes. Now we see that a lot of companies are looking at green heat. So they started with the low hanging fruits, I mean, three, four years ago, maybe energy efficiency, sourcing green electricity. But now they are looking at the green heat and they realise that hydrogen could be an option.
But, there is also competition with other options like biomethane. So you should also look at things case by case. Does it make sense for me?
Maybe another couple of points to have in mind when thinking about hydrogen is through payback or return on investment in financial metrics, which is obviously important.
I mean, all companies have that in mind. But we have found that for hydrogen, like for other decarbonisation options, it’s best to think in terms of total cost of ownership as a metric, because it really creates a shift. Then rather than saying, I want to find good projects, maybe hydrogen projects could be one of them that have a good return of investments.
The last point I would like to emphasise is that we often think hydrogen is about technology. Yes, it’s about technology, but like for any technology in the communication, this is a big change management exercise, probably the largest change management.
So don’t just look at hydrogen with a technoeconomic lens, which is important of course it is crucial. But also companies should look at hydrogen from an integration perspective.
Hear from industry experts across aviation, rail, and the highway sectors.
We will be hearing from industry experts across aviation, rail, and the highway sectors to find out about their vision to create a sustainable future and how hydrogen will fit into the energy mix.
The conference will allow organisations an opportunity to showcase products and solutions that the transport sector can take away and incorporate into their long-term vision.
This includes innovative new products, solutions and overall new ways of thinking which will help transform the UK into a truly resource-efficient nation.