McPhy’s hydrogen solution will be used for storage of surplus solar and wind energy under a new phase of the CEH project.
Nottingham University’s CEH include a unique research facility, and the homes developed under the program incorporate renewable micro generation from solar, wind and ground source heat pumps.
The houses have operated individually using only the renewable energy generated at that property, to address this the new phase of the CEH project is developing a microgrid that will provide an energy management system across several houses.
The project will investigate the optimum performance for storing surplus energy as solid hydrogen in McPhy Energy’s MCP-N-4, a magnesium hydride (MgH2)-based storage tank, within the microgrid, the University said.
The hydrogen will then be used to feed the fuel cells on an as-needed basis.
University Sustainable Energy professor Gavin Walker said having a combination of energy stores will provide a more robust system, with McPhy’s solid hydrogen tanks used primarily for mid-term energy storage, and using batteries for short term energy requirements.
