Hydrogen transport roadmap report welcomed by UK Business and Energy Minister

The UK H₂Mobility project this week published a report summarising the results of the first phase of the study. Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon MP welcomed the publication and the news that Sainsbury’s has joined the project for the second phase, in which a detailed business case and framework for the deployment of hydrogen vehicles and infrastructure will be developed.

The full phase 1 report (together with a synopsis report) is available from the BIS website.

UK H₂Mobility is a partnership between industry and three UK Government departments, working together to evaluate the role of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen in the UK’s low carbon transport future. Element Energy helped to initiate the project in 2011 and continues to provide consultancy support through the analytical phases.

For further information please contact ben.madden@element-energy.co.uk.

Element Energy research informs national and international strategies for industrial CCS

The International Energy Agency recently published a report setting out the status of industrial CCS and recommendations for further action and policies required to advance the technology. Element Energy has conducted extensive study into industrial CCS and was acknowledged in the IEA’s report: Global Action to Advance Carbon Capture and Storage: A Focus on Industrial Applications.

This builds on a recent paper on industrial CCS for two UK Government departments, and Element Energy’s contributions to the Clean Energy Ministerial discussions.

For further information please contact harsh.pershad@element-energy.co.uk.

Element Energy welcomes new recruits to Cambridge

Element Energy this month welcomed two new consultants to its Cambridge office, Jorge Garcia Moreno and Erenn Ore.

Jorge joins Element Energy as an Energy Consultant having recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development. Jorge has three years’ experience in industry developing water treatment and purification projects for municipalities throughout Mexico. During his master’s thesis, he explored scenarios where Mexico could meet its 2024 sustainable electricity targets. He has a good understanding of sustainable development, low-carbon power technologies and the technical and commercial challenges facing the low carbon energy sector.

Erenn is a doctoral candidate at The Engineering Department of The University of Cambridge. His research focus is on thin film photovoltaic devices. He holds an MPhil in Nanotechnology Enterprise. He carried out his MPhil thesis in molecular electronics at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge and studied business and management at the Cambridge Judge Business School, where his project on identifying the route to market for a novel sensing technology contributed to the founding of a start-up company. Prior to his PhD studies, Erenn worked as a business development officer at a USA-based venture capital firm specialising in the commercialisation of early stage innovations in the energy economy.

Hydrogen transport roadmap for the UK published

The UK H₂Mobility project issued its first publication this week at a launch event in central London. UK H₂Mobility is a partnership between industry and three UK Government departments, working together to evaluate the role of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen in the UK’s low carbon transport future. Element Energy played a key role in initiating the project and was a member of the consultancy team that provided analytical support to the group throughout the first phase of the project.

The full press release is available here, and the synopsis report is also available to download.

For further information please contact ben.madden@element-energy.co.uk.

New hydrogen transport demonstration project begins

The London Hydrogen Network Expansion (LHNE) project began this month. This three year project, part funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board, will see the deployment of new hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and associated refuelling infrastructure in and around London. Further details are available in the press release.

Element Energy was instrumental in initiating this project through securing funding and building the consortium. Element Energy has a number of key roles in the ongoing activities, including project management, supporting the construction of a new hydrogen refuelling station in London, and recording the lessons learnt through this ambitious project.

For further information please contact michael.dolman@element-energy.co.uk.

Smart Systems and Heat project gets underway

The first phase of the Energy Technology Institute’s Smart Systems and Heat initiative recently began. This ambitious programme will develop a smart energy system, aimed at meeting energy consumers’ requirements whilst contributing to the UK’s strategic energy aims (to deliver secure, affordable, low carbon supplies).

Working with project partners Hitachi, EDF, and Imperial College, Element Energy is playing a central role in identifying and characterising the technologies required to enable smart energy systems.

For further information, please contact shane.slater@element-energy.co.uk.

ENE.FIELD website goes live

The ene.field project is a major European demonstration of fuel cell micro combined heat and power (CHP), a smart energy solution supplying buildings’ energy needs. The project’s website was recently launched and provides information on the technology and the trials.

Having led the successful bid for EC-funding, Element Energy is now providing technical coordination and project and managing the trials (involving nine manufacturers with installations across twelve countries). This five-year demonstration project involves 26 partners and will see the installation of up to 1,000 micro CHP units in households across Europe.

For more information, visit www.enefield.eu, download the press release or contact lisa.ruf@element-energy.co.uk.

Element Energy welcomes new recruits to London

Element Energy this month welcomed two new consultants to its London office, Sara De La Serna and Saleem Butt.

Sara joins Element Energy as a Consultant having graduated from Imperial College with a MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures. Her master thesis was related to the study of the conditions under which it could be beneficial for the UK to develop a domestic technology capacity, manufacturing base and a supply chain. Originally from Madrid, she gained an MSc in Chemical Engineering in Complutense University, spending her last year in the University of Birmingham as an Erasmus student. Before coming to London, Sara was involved in the paper and pulp industry R&D sector. She is passionate about music and travelling, having been involved in choirs and played classical guitar for many years.

Saleem joins Element Energy as an Energy Consultant having recently graduated from Imperial College London with an MSci in Chemistry. Saleem has experience in industry researching conductive polymers for BASF SE Asia, and device engineering for a start-up in Cambridge. During his master’s programme, he spent time abroad working on Inorganic Catalysis at the Humboldt Universiteit zu Berlin, and Leiden University where he completed his thesis in Chemical Biology. He has a good understanding of sustainable development, low-carbon technologies in particular organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and photovoltaics, and the technical and commercial challenges facing the low carbon energy sector.

New Element Energy study on economic potential of CCS published

A study for Scottish Enterprise led by Element Energy was released this week. The report explores the economic impacts of CO₂-EOR (enhanced oil recovery) for Scotland and finds that CO₂-EOR projects in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) could generate up to £2.7 bn of additional GVA for the Scottish economy. The study identified nineteen UKCS oil fields with the technical potential for CO₂ enhanced oil recovery, which could provide an additional one billion barrels of oil being recovered whilst offering the potential to store significant volumes of CO₂.

The report provides a list of recommended actions for Scottish Enterprise to capitalise on the opportunity and maximise benefits for Scottish businesses.

The publication of this new report was announced in a Scottish Enterprise press release, and in articles on BBC News and Business Green.

For further information please contact harsh.pershad@element-energy.co.uk.

Element Energy presents latest insights on electric vehicles at major international conference

Element Energy’s Celine Cluzel recently attended the Batteries 2012 conference in Nice, France; a three day event attended by over 300 researchers, suppliers, and other battery industry stakeholders. Celine presented Element Energy’s latest analysis of the cost and performance of electric vehicle batteries, including projections to 2030. The presentation put battery costs in context relative to whole vehicle costs and explored the total cost of ownership of a range of alternative powertrains. From this analysis Celine was able to draw insightful conclusions regarding the competitiveness of electric vehicles and the role of policy support to encourage uptake.

For further information please contact celine.cluzel@element-energy.co.uk.