Innovate UK has awarded £630,000 ($815,400) to a project that plans to produce green hydrogen directly from seawater to fuel a harbour patrol vessel.
The HydroPort trials at Portland Port in Dorset will allow newly launched start-up Latent Drive to assess the market potential of its SeaStack electrolyser technology that allows seawater to be used to produce green hydrogen.
The project, supported by Dorset Council, will also see Logan Energy, Saline Business Services and the University of Exeter’s Centre for Future Clean Mobility work on assessing the technology in a port setting.
Latent Drive’s system will be “at least” 20kW of capacity to produce 10kg of hydrogen per day. It will be installed on the quayside within the port’s commercial area, powered by a solar array. The harbour patrol boat will be refuelled on a nearby pontoon.
Using seawater in electrolysis has gained huge attraction from technology developers due to its potential in eliminating desalination and water treatment requirements required for conventional technologies.
However, electrolysing seawater can lead to chlorine gas production instead of oxygen due to the water’s high concentration of chloride ions. It can also lead to electrode corrosion, scaling, membrane degradation and reduced efficiency.
Despite these challenges, Latent Drive says its SeaStack technology can produce high-purity hydrogen with fast response to electrical power fluctuation, all with platinum group metal- (PGM)-free electrodes.
The company has also designed the technology for installation on harbour walls, offshore wind turbines and floating platforms.
It comes shortly after the company’s launch following a £2.25m ($2.9m) raise.
“We are grateful for this ongoing government support which will help to demonstrate how our SeaStack electrolyser can revolutionise clean hydrogen production, location and economics – without expensive desalination or rare metals,” said Latent Drive founder and CEO, Frazer Ely.
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