The Midlands at the forefront of hydrogen innovation

HORIBA MIRA’s Managing Director, Declan Allen, has joined the Industrial Advisory Group of HyDEX, a project fostering the creation of a new hydrogen industrial economy in the Midlands as part of the transition to net zero.

Led by Keele University, the £4.9 million three-year project, funded via the RED Fund scheme and run by Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will see the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) partners make available £111m worth of hydrogen facilities, large scale demonstration programmes, and research capabilities to regional businesses.

The programme will allow SMEs, established Midlands-based and UK commercial partners, and multinational businesses to accelerate the development and viability of new hydrogen products, transition from declining industrial sectors, train and re-skill, supported by the expertise of leading industrial partners in transport, heating and manufacturing technologies.

In his role as part of the Industrial Advisory Group, Declan will strengthen the automotive and transport focus, spotlighting the needs of the road transport sector. He said: “HORBIA MIRA and HORIBA are already investing in and supplying products and services to support the development of hydrogen-based solutions globally for the road transport sector. We are also building a sustainable, green hydrogen fuelling and electric vehicle charging forecourt on the MIRA Technology Park, located at the heart of the automotive sector.

“The continued development of the technology is crucial, and within this we must also understand how we build a supply chain that can deliver a commercially viable road transport hydrogen solution. By leveraging cross sector know how and investment, HyDEX and the advisory group have a major role to play in delivering this for the Midlands and the UK.”

For more information on the HyDEX project, visit: https://www.era.ac.uk/hydex

Image shows the partners and connectivity of the HyDEX programme