Hydrogen fuel cell unveiled in Orkney

A hydrogen fuel cell has been unveiled in Orkney, part of the Surf ‘n’ Turf hydrogen community energy project, led by the charity Community Energy Scotland, working with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Orkney Islands Council, Eday Renewable Energy, and ITM Power.

Surf ’n’ Turf is a pilot project, looking to circumvent local grid constraints by generating hydrogen from tidal and wind energy. It has £1.3m of Scottish Government funding through the CARES programme and Local Energy Challenge Fund.

Other elements of the system include an electrolyser (left) which produces hydrogen from tidal power at EMEC’s tidal test site on the island of Eday, beginning this August.

The hydrogen will be stored (below right) and transported to Kirkwall where the fuel cell will convert it back into electricity for use by the inter-island ferries whilst berthed at the pier.

Hydrogen handling

As part of the project, Orkney College is providing education on hydrogen handling – the fuel cell is designed to marine standards, allowing mariners to train for hydrogen powered ferries.