Tag Archives: hydrogen

Sustainability specialist to support key marine net zero carbon initiative

Leicestershire-based sustainability specialist, Clean Air Power, is part of a consortium that has successfully secured £250,000 to deliver a major clean maritime project.

Clean Air Power is working alongside global engineering consultancy MAHLE Powertrain and the University of Nottingham, to help develop potential green propulsion systems for marine users such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The project, named HyJet, is now under way.

The funding has been secured via Innovate UK, a non-departmental public body which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services.

The consortium will explore the use of sustainable fuels, such as green hydrogen, methanol or ammonia, that would produce zero or near zero pollutants in smaller marine engines. The RNLI has an overall fleet of 400 vessels including all-weather lifeboats and inshore rescue vessels.

Clean Air Power, from Melton Mowbray, are specialists in decarbonised fuelling and will develop and supply the engine’s fuel injection systems, through its DigiJet range of valves and injectors.

Dan Skelton, Managing Director of Clean Air Power, said: “We are thrilled to be a partner in this successful bid, and are looking forward to working with the RNLI and the other partners to investigate potential sustainable solutions for the future. We have two decades of experience working on innovative injection and fluid control projects and are pleased to see this expertise recognised, both by our sustainability partners and the UK authorities, as we move to net zero with the marine sector.”

Innovate UK offered funding via the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. HyJet was one of 22 projects to win funding out of a total 45 applicants.

The HyJet project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which was launched in May 2022, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC2, the Department allocated over £14m to 31 projects supported by 121 organisations from across the UK to deliver feasibility studies and collaborative R&D projects in clean maritime solutions.

The CMDC2 is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) flagship multi-year CMDC programme. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in our UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.

Commerce Experience Platform, Nosto, launches integration with Hydrogen, Shopify’s headless commerce stack, available today

As a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner, Nosto has been selected as a preferred recommended solution for Shopify’s headless commerce stack, Hydrogen, enabling merchants to build custom storefronts without compromising their ability to deliver personalized commerce experiences

New York & London – June 23, 2022 – Leading Commerce Experience Platform (CXP), Nosto, is selected as a preferred recommended solution for the launch of Shopify’s headless commerce solution, Hydrogen. Nosto’s data-fueled personalization and merchandising solutions for ecommerce will integrate with Hydrogen immediately and be available for merchants globally.

Launched publicly yesterday, June 22, Hydrogen promises to revolutionize how brands build and deploy custom storefronts on the Shopify platform, marking the next step for retailers looking to gain more freedom in how they deliver dynamic shopping experiences at scale.

Already a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner and key technology vendor in the Shopify ecosystem, Nosto is a preferred recommended solution for Hydrogen integration. The integration is crucial so merchants are equipped to deliver compelling, personalized online shopping experiences from the get-go on a Hydrogen stack.

This means merchants building completely custom, or headless, storefronts on Shopify can do so with confidence that they don’t have to sacrifice on-site personalization, a crucial aspect of delivering authentic and relevant commerce experiences.

Alongside the launch, Nosto has publicly released supporting code and documentation for developers to leverage the various CXP modules.

“As the demand for headless keeps gaining momentum, driven by needs from merchants to deliver flexible yet incredibly fast experiences, we’re excited about Shopify Hydrogen and the structure it provides for building storefronts using composable frameworks,” says Tuukkaa Häkkinen, Global Head of Product at Nosto.

Nosto’s CXP makes it easy to quickly deploy fully personalized and integrated commerce experiences across the entire onsite experience, including product recommendations, category merchandising, content personalization, on-site pop-ups, personalized emails and more. Delivering relevant and authentic shopping experiences through Nosto’s CXP helps merchants improve key performance metrics such as conversion rate, AOV, engagement, and LTV.

Integrating the CXP capabilities with Shopify’s new Hydrogen framework will benefit both larger merchants looking to have more control over their tech stack and creative merchants who want to connect to consumers through memorable, authentic, and relevant brand experiences.

“We’re excited to launch Hydrogen and Oxygen with Nosto integrating with the framework,” said Ben Sehl, Senior Product Lead, Shopify.

“Nosto, a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner, is a highly performant, consistently reliable, and popular commerce experience platform among many of our merchants. Using Nosto with a Hydrogen-powered custom storefront on Shopify will empower merchants to build engaging, personalized customer experiences with bleeding-edge performance.”

For brands building custom storefronts on Shopify, Hydrogen lets them get to market faster with pre-built components, a fully built-out starter store, and hooks that map directly to Shopify’s APIs. When the storefront is ready to get in front of customers, hosting globally on Oxygen is as simple as one-click from within the Shopify admin. The Hydrogen and Oxygen stack ensures storefronts are fast, high-performing, and available wherever customers shop.

“At Nosto, we continue our approach to offer the most advanced technology for Shopify retailers. We were the first certified Commerce Experience Platform for Shopify and this strengthens our technology leadership within the ecosystem further,” says Jim Lofgren, CEO of Nosto.

“We’re pleased to launch with Hydrogen to provide the best experience and support for our customers looking to migrate to a headless solution powered by Shopify and the Hydrogen stack. We’re here to help merchants build authentic and relevant online commerce experiences at scale.”

For more information on the Nosto and Shopify Hydrogen integration, including the supporting code and documentation, visit www.nosto.com/shopify-hydrogen

Unitrove receives UK Government grant to further develop the world’s first liquid hydrogen bunkering facility for fuelling zero-emission ships

The creator of the world’s first liquid hydrogen bunkering facility for fuelling zero-emission ships has won a UK Government grant to develop a unit ready for rapid deployment to ports around the world.

Steven Lua, CEO of Unitrove Innovation, part of the Unitrove Group, said the £30,000 Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG), awarded by the Department for Transport in partnership with Connected Places Catapult, would be used to help further develop its commercial version of the small-scale portable facility, which can help reduce emissions of one of the most polluting forms of transport.

The Leicestershire-based clean-tech company unveiled the unit at COP26 in Glasgow last November.

Steven said the facility was vital to fuel an international shipping industry that accounts for around one billion tonnes of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and contributes to around 400,000 premature deaths and 14 million cases of childhood asthma every year due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur oxides (SOₓ), and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) that arise from ship smokestacks.

“The award will help us to further develop our liquid hydrogen bunkering facility as we move towards commercialisation,” said Steven. “This is fantastic validation for our project and it also opens up opportunities for increased collaboration as we work towards reducing emissions, which are causing so much damage to our planet.

“We need collaboration across the entire energy industry as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We need to embrace multiple renewable and clean energy solutions to achieve our net-zero ambitions and we need real investment in infrastructure to develop affordable, reliable, sustainable energy in the future.”

The TRIG programme was launched by the Department for Transport in 2014 to foster research and innovation in the sector. This year’s TRIG is the largest ever, with over 50 awards spanning different areas including maritime decarbonisation and the future of freight.

Steven said liquid hydrogen as a commercial fuel was relatively unexplored as an option – but that it had great potential for many uses, including plugging the gap that electric and compressed hydrogen cannot fill.

“Liquid hydrogen has long been used to safely and successfully send rockets into space. The technology is mature, but the markets for its use are not.

“We already see very early signs of light-duty vessels being battery-driven or powered by compressed gaseous hydrogen, but liquid hydrogen will allow us to serve the heavier portion of the shipping fleet where we hope to have a much larger impact.

“We are also exploring options including ammonia, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, and solid hydrogen in the form of sodium borohydride. However, we understand that priority is currently being given to the development of international standards and regulations for pure hydrogen, and this could play a significant factor in the long run.

“We believe that hydrogen will be recognised as a global commodity that will be traded in the same way that natural gas is today. The bunker fuel market is worth an estimated $120bn, so there is a huge opportunity not only in environmental and social terms, but also financially.”

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “Innovation funded as part of TRIG could be the key to unlocking a more efficient and safer transport system for tomorrow.

“I support the ingenious ideas of this year’s cohort every step of the way and wish the successful applicants all the very best. I look forward to seeing the ideas develop to boost our green agenda and create high-skilled jobs across the UK.”

Clean Air Power appoints Ian Borley as advisor

Leicestershire-based sustainability specialist, Clean Air Power, has appointed Ian Borley DL as an advisor.
Ian is an award-winning business consultant who specialises in change management. He was previously at KPMG in the East Midlands for over 20 years, working his way up to senior partner and leading their Midlands Enterprise practice. Since retiring from KPMG in 2020, Ian has been running his own consultancy practice and he is also a non-executive director of the National Space Centre.
Clean Air Power is helping deliver the transition from fossil fuels to decarbonised transport with net zero emissions. Founded in 1991, the company provides technology and systems that improve performance and reduce the impact of public and private transport on the environment. Its clients include Volvo, DHL and Mercedes.
Ian said: “It is clear that we need to find alternative sources of power that do less damage to the environment, but which are still practical and cost-effective to the end user. To my mind, hydrogen is a great alternative to fossil fuels – particularly in industrial applications where electricity is just not a viable option. So, I’m delighted to be joining the team at Clean Air Power, who are doing a tremendous job of bringing to market proven technologies that make hydrogen engines work.”
Dan Skelton, CEO of Clean Air Power, said: “We’re delighted Ian is joining us, as his wealth of knowledge and expertise will be vital in supporting this period of our expansion.
“Net Zero Carbon is high on the agenda both locally and further afield, so now is the ideal time to further raise our profile and make clear the benefits of hydrogen power in helping remove fossil fuels from sectors such as automotive, rail, marine and construction. This includes supplying our hydrogen technology to overcome some of the major barriers currently blocking quick implementation of these zero emission fuels.
“We’re looking forward to working with Ian to help accelerate decarbonisation and the move to zero emission power. The need to tackle the impact of fossil fuels has never been more important than it is now.”
Ian was a member of the CBI’s East Midlands Regional Council, was Chair of Leicestershire Business Voice, and has served on the boards of the National Forest Charitable Trust and the Richard III Visitor Centre.
He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by De Montfort University and was formerly Leicestershire’s ‘Non-Executive Director of the Year’. He was commissioned as Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire earlier this year.

Clean Air Power announces the release of new hydrogen injector range

Specialist sustainability business, Clean Air Power, is marking its 25th anniversary working with hydrogen injection products by releasing a new internal combustion range. The range, which digitally control hydrogen gas flow into engines, includes a high-pressure direct hydrogen injector that complements Clean Air Power’s existing injector options.

Clean Air Power is naming the extended range ‘DigiJet’, which will replace its existing ‘ServoJet’ products. This next generation of products represent an evolution of the current technology, bringing recognised reliability and durability to hydrogen injection and offering a compact and affordable solution.

DigiJet products can be used across a wide range of industries including on-road, off-highway, rail, maritime and motorsport. The release of a hydrogen injector that doesn’t require lubricant helps address the challenges of delivering hydrogen into the combustion chamber of an engine, as well as assisting the increasing move away from fossil fuel dependence.

The injectors can be provided in configurations and ratings to suit a range of applications.

Dan Skelton, CEO of Clean Air Power, said: “As we celebrate 25 years of pioneering hydrogen injection products, we are very excited about the potential for our DigiJet range. The addition of direct injection capability to our portfolio is a key step for us, opening up a wide range of new green fuel applications such as hydrogen and ammonia.

“Our technology has revolutionised gas injection and fluid control during the past quarter of a century, creating new markets for low carbon gas and digital hydraulics. DigiJet will further our reputation for developing affordable, multi-application solutions.

“The products will help accelerate decarbonisation and the move to zero emission power. The need to tackle the impact of fossil fuels on our climate has been a focus for Clean Air Power since we very first started.

“We believe DigiJet will showcase the advantages of our approach both as a technical solution and as a company.”

For more information go to www.cleanairpower.com