Partnership looks at seawater’s potential to power ceramic production 

Date posted: December 5, 2022
Share
Lucideon hydrogen kiln

New research is looking to the coast to explore ways to generate sustainable hydrogen supplies to power up the UK’s ceramics sector.

The feasibility of creating hydrogen energy for kilns from seawater and nitrogen, via ammonia, is being considered under the PRO-GREEN H2 programme, funded through the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

Led by technology innovation catalyst CPI, it will look at the different scenarios whereby the renewable gas could transform the energy intensive ceramics industry.

The programme will include working with Staffordshire-based technology company Lucideon, who are carving out a niche in the implementation of renewable gas for industry.

Since April 2022, Lucideon has been running a pilot kiln, currently operating at 20 per cent hydrogen, from its research centre in Stone.

Under PRO-GREEN H2, Lucideon will look at ceramic firing at up to 100 per cent hydrogen, testing a range of ceramic products and modelling adaptations at this level.

Jon Forster, Materials Delivery Manager at Lucideon, said:

“PRO-GREEN H2 investigates an end-to-end system for the generation and use of green hydrogen, which would be used for fuel switching in ceramics, as well as other manufacturing industries.

“Decarbonising the ceramics sector by switching to green hydrogen would contribute to the UK meeting its CO2 mitigation targets and achieving the goals set out in the UK Hydrogen Strategy 2021.

“We will be looking at developing an on-site, on demand hydrogen generation system, using nitrogen and seawater as the components to convert to hydrogen.

“It is exciting research, which could deliver significant changes to ceramic production and wider industries.”

Michael Hughes, Senior Process Engineer at CPI, said:

“We are currently developing several process engineering concept designs and assessing their economic viability to create low carbon products, as opposed to the natural gas firing of kilns.

“Once a concept has been selected, we will develop this further into an end-to-end system that we will evaluate, from a techno-economic perspective, with the hope to test at demonstration-scale in the future.”

Share

Keep Updated

Latest News & Events

Liberty-Fabrics-image-2-c-Liberty-881x585px

Latest News

Mar 28 2024

Funding secured to develop AI toolkit for universities teaching art and design

Funding of £10,000 for an innovative new research project that will help universities integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their art and design education programmes has been secured by the Nottingham School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University in partnership with Chelsea College of Arts (University of the Arts London), Liberty Fabrics, and Norwich University of the Arts.

Read more
QEB March 24 Graphic for news story20

Digital

Mar 22 2024

Digital and technology clusters and skills in the Midlands discussed in the latest Quarterly Economic Briefing
Read more
Sir John Peace and others gather for the ground breaking ceremony at Horiba MIRA.

Economic Opportunities

Mar 27 2024

Construction begins to create new innovation facilities at MIRA Technology Park

In a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Midlands Engine Chairman Sir John Peace, Plot 9 at MIRA Technology Park officially began construction, serving as the inaugural building in this transformative stage.

Read more
An electric vehicle charging

Subscribe to Midlands Matters, the newsletter of the Midlands Engine