Stuart Murphy, Founder, TPGen24, provides a personal view of why a constant supply of cost-effective tidal power will be key to hydrogen capture and production technology.

Stuart Murphy: Hydrogen, the element which has captured the imagination of global business and industry over the last decade, is gaining even more prominence as we seek to decarbonise society.

However, whilst much progress has been made over the last couple of decades to make this element a sustainable and efficient fuel source across the built environment and our transport systems, viability and cost remains high.

Of course, every effort is being made to overcome this. In the UK alone, it was clear the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a keen enthusiast, having announced a range of hydrogen capture projects at strategic sites across the UK.

However, a number of issues exist around the energy demanded for production, as well as delivery and storage. Whilst I’m certainly not in an authoritative position to address the latter two challenges, I can offer a perspective on the former as a renewable’s inventor and investor.

Meeting the cost

Powering a plant which will generate an adequate amount of hydrogen to deliver ROI will likely be costly and require a far larger energy system than we currently have, especially if it has to compete with the myriad other demands on capacity.

However, I feel I’ve come up with a practical solution, deliverable at scale.

As we all know, hydrogen is a key constituent of water, and it will be from this compound that most of the element will be harvested. Why don’t we go even further to get this essential ingredient to life on Earth to also provide the electricity required to produce it? Even better, why don’t we develop a self-powering hydrogen capture plant, independent from the main grid, which can operate 24/7, 365 days of the year?

It sounds like science fiction, but actually, we are not far off from realising such a situation, and the key to unlocking the potential of these self-sufficient hydrogen generators lies in tidal energy.

The power of the ocean

Tidal energy has to be the most overlooked and underexplored of all the renewable energy systems currently in development, by policy makers and investors alike.

However, public and professional attitudes are starting to change. As we continue to automate all aspects of life and rely on digital technology more and more, we are coming to the realisation that existing intermittent levels are renewable energy are not nearly enough to satisfy demand. Further, planned infrastructure will not be able to keep pace with the appetite for electricity.

As hydrogen comes onto the mainstream, the pressure on capacity will immediately spike. Solar and wind systems, as effective as they are, will not be able to provide the required levels, and I don’t think building more nuclear plants is the way forward. Nor do I think taking a regressive step back to a hybrid system which includes fossil fuels is a good idea.

With options running out, tidal is coming to the fore. This has been evidenced through the Welsh Assembly and UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee making positive noise around the resource. It speaks volumes as Wales is central to the UK’s hydrogen capture strategy.

A growing wave

My interest in tidal energy has developed over the last few decades, influenced by my childhood growing up by The Dee Estuary and then by a career in electrical engineering. It always baffled me why, with so many appropriate high tidal ranges, we had never seriously developed our capabilities around this resource.

Around a decade ago, I had a Eureka moment: what if we could invent a system which could deliver clean, baseline energy 24/7? Surely then people would sit up and take proper notice of tidal.

Since then, I’ve been working with scientific, engineering and environmental experts, with two simple goals in mind:

• Realising a robust, cost effective, efficient and low-environmental impact tidal energy system.
• Developing an energy solution which can produce, store and release electricity 24/7, seamlessly matching supply in line with increasing demand.

Progress has been steady, but breakthroughs over the last 12 months are now bringing TPGen24, the name of our project, one step closer to reality.

The holy grail of energy

Recent CFD results are compelling and it’s getting harder to ignore, particularly for the hydrogen capture sector. According to current calculations, our technology will independently be able to provide baseload—the holy grail of energy.

Using smart control turbines and multiple plant locations, which exploits the rise and fall of the tides naturally and artificially, driving water back and forth through thousands of turbines within the multi-level lagoons, can generate a staggering 66 TWh per annum.

Given that it operates perpetually, this will be more than enough energy to produce the required amounts of hydrogen, whilst sharing the same sustainable raw resource: sea water. It’s a potential game-changer.

Aside from energy capacity, a real advantage for hydrogen production also lies in TPGen24’s structure, not only offshore, but its dimensions and foundations mean a hydrogen capture facility could be built on top of the superstructure. There could even be potential for storage within too.

As you can see, it presents many possibilities for collaboration between two future clean resource giants. It has prompted us to start approaching players within the sector to explore mutually beneficial opportunities.

That’s not all

Whilst I’ve focused mainly on how tidal energy could help make large-scale hydrogen capture a cost-effective reality, these systems, like my own TPGen24, deliver so many other benefits.

For consumers and businesses, it means 24/7, 365 days a year green electricity, complementing the wider energy mix and easing pressure on the grid during peak times.

Further afield, the big infrastructure requirements of a plant would create more jobs and drive investment into our coastal towns and communities, prompting social regeneration.

Riding the crest

It’s an exciting time for both tidal and hydrogen. I feel that soon it will be our time, and we should both be working together to realise and harness the opportunities available.

Getting the water industry on board will be essential and it will be our task to show how players in the sector will stand to benefit from supporting and investing in both tidal and hydrogen.

As an island nation, water should be seen as one of our most valuable commodities beyond drinking it, fishing it and sailing it. Now is the moment for us to sit up, wake up and take notice.