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U.K's First Hydrogen Powered House

Posted: 22/11/2005

A tiny fishing village on the exposed Berwickshire coastline in Scotland is playing host for the next 12 months to the cutting-edge of 21st century technology. Eyemouth has taken its place on the world stage as the venue for the first ever installation of a Home Energy Centre in the UK using hydrogen.

A newly built family house, belonging to Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA), has provided an ideal ‘live’ domestic venue for the installation of a prototype hydrogen-powered fuel cell, which uses a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and separates out hydrogen from natural gas to make heat and power.

The fuel cell is expected to produce 100% of the heating requirements and 70% of the electricity needs of an average household. In addition to assessing the fuel cell’s performance in a ‘live’ situation over the next year, the trial of the prototype will be closely monitored by the Carbon Trust to assess how the technology might help to reduce global carbon emissions.

The project is the latest in a long line of initiatives created by BHA in its quest for renewable energy solutions (RES) – an approach which now lies firmly at the core of the association's development work. Philip Jones, Chief Executive of BHA, said: “This marks a milestone in BHA’s 10-year evolution, which has progressed from solar and domestic wind power, to this innovative work with our European partners to pilot a forerunner of future hydrogen solutions; an approach that could transform the way we think about generating domestic power.”

BHA’s approach seeks to benefit the company, and its tenants, by future-proofing its housing stock against diminishing reserves of fossil fuels and reducing the extent to which its tenants are exposed to rising energy costs.

The Scottish Enterprise Energy Team, recognising the potential importance of hydrogen as a future energy solution, has also backed the project by contributing some of the funding to make the installation possible.

Alastair Brown, Director of Operations at BHA, said, “Hydrogen is regarded by many to be the fuel of the future, and this is only the beginning of the hydrogen story for BHA. We already have ambitious plans in place for the next phase in our evolution. This will combine the technologies of this project, along with wind or solar energy, to produce hydrogen from water, which is then stored on site and used by fuel cell technology. This will provide a solution that is wholly renewable.

"Given that around 70% of our planet’s surface is made up of water, using water as a source for producing hydrogen could offer a cornucopia of raw material for generating energy, while minimising emissions.”

John Land  
 

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