IMI Critical Engineering’s subsidiary IMI VIVO will support the UK South West’s first green hydrogen production and storage facility. The company will supply and install a new polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser to IAAPS’ facility.
The IMO VIVO electrolyser was delivered in July (2023) and reduced the institute’s reliance on grey hydrogen for research purposes and will form the basis for a regional hydrogen and Sustainable Transport Acceleration Hub, to stimulate green growth in the South West and provide an important link to the UK’s hydrogen research infrastructure.
IAAPS is a commercial subsidiary of the University of Bath and the research and innovation for the project is carried out at its ‘state-of-the-art’ facility at the Bristol and Bath Science Park, which features a large solar array to power the electrolyser plant and produce hydrogen. The plant and its storage will be sized to allow the operation of a 400kW propulsion research facility.
The excess hydrogen produced by the electrolyser will be used in other applications in the IAAPS facility, such as powering boilers, reducing the facility’s natural gas use, and aiding its transition to Net Zero emissions.
Earlier this year, IMI Critical Engineering completed the first field test of its IMI VIVO PEM electrolyser. The 200kW electrolyser test was undertaken at its Sardinia, Italy, facility and generated 4kg of hydrogen per hour at 30 barg.
