Tidal power devices located at the European Marine Energy Centre test site at the Fall of Warness, in the sea just west of the island of Eday, and the Eday Renewable Energy community-owned onshore wind turbine, will combine their surplus electricity (hence Surf ‘n’ Turf) and route it to a 500kW electrolyser, which generates hydrogen by splitting water. The hydrogen is stored as compressed gas then transported on a trailer by road and sea to Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, where it powers a fuel cell to generate clean electricity on demand. The first time that hydrogen has been created from tidal energy anywhere in the world has been announced at the European Marine Energy Centre – which produced hydrogen gas using electricity generated from tidal energy in Scotland’s Orkney isles. By harnessing the power of the tide at the centre’s Fall of Warness tidal energy test site, prototype tidal energy converters – the Scotrenewables SR2000 and Tocardo TFS and T2 turbines – fed power into an electrolyser situated next to EMEC’s onshore substation. Supplied by ITM Power, the electrolyser uses the electricity to split water (H2O) into its component parts – hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The electrolyser is housed in a standard 20 x 10-inch ISO container with hydrogen generation capacity of up to 220kg/24hours. Dr Graham Cooley, Chief Executive, ITM Power, commented: “We’re delighted to be working with EMEC to reach the milestone of first gas production on this ground-breaking project to directly couple an electrolyser to tidal turbines.
Scottish Energy News 14th Sept 2017 read more »
A Scottish test and research centre has claimed a world “first” by generating hydrogen gas from tidal energy. The European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) said it achieved the feat at its tidal energy test site in Orkney late last month. It added that it demonstrated the potential for a clean replacement for polluting fuels. Emec’s investment in hydrogen production capability was backed by the Scottish government. Funding of £3m was made available through Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The hydrogen gas was produced after prototype tidal energy converters – Scotrenewables’ SR2000 and Tocardo’s TFS and T2 turbine – fed power into an electrolyser situated next to Emec’s onshore substation. Supplied by ITM Power, the electrolyser used the electricity to split water (H2O) into its component parts – hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2).
BBC 13th Sept 2017 read more »
Herald 13th Sept 2017 read more »
