New £14.1m global initiative to transform Net Zero hydrogen production Published on: 18 September 2023 Ãå±±½ûµØ is part of the UK’s collaboration on an international partnership to make low-cost, large-scale, Net Zero hydrogen production a reality. The (HyPT) is a £14.1 million five-year project led by Cranfield University, Arizona State University, the University of Adelaide and the University of Toronto, which seeks to accelerate Net Zero hydrogen technologies to make it available at low cost - approximately one dollar per kg of hydrogen. UK Research and Innovation has distributed £6.2 million of funding to UK HyPT partners through their Building a Green Future fund and International Science Partnerships Fund. This Global Center will provide broad coverage of all major technologies for net-zero hydrogen production to de-risk the global challenge of cost reduction and scale-up. The Center has integrated research spanning from materials and devices to systems and applications. Researchers at Ãå±±½ûµØ will lead the UK low temperature (below 200°C) electrolyser development focusing on improving performance, reducing cost and extending lifetime while using earth abundant materials. Professor Mohamed Mamlouk, Professor of Electrochemical Engineering Science at the School of Engineering, is the Ãå±±½ûµØ lead. He said: "It is exciting to be part of global team with complementary expertise accelerating research into affordable and sustainable hydrogen generation and adaption. It is encouraging to see global momentum behind adapting hydrogen for decarbonisation. We will need diverse number of technologies and solutions to ensure the sustainability of supply chain and materials used and ability to manufacture at scale. Our efforts will focus on cross disciplinary science-engineering approaches targeted at development of polymeric membrane-based electrolysers from materials to system." Other UK partners include Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Birmingham. Crucial role of Net Zero hydrogen in meeting Paris climate targets Large-scale hydrogen production with Net Zero emissions of greenhouse gases is essential to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate targets and limit global warming to 2ËšC. Net Zero hydrogen enables the decarbonisation of many energy-intensive industries such as ammonia, steel, cement, aluminium, transportation, and energy storage. But Net Zero hydrogen is currently several times more expensive than hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, which hinders its widespread adoption. HyPT seeks to develop three major Net Zero hydrogen production technologies: 1. water electrolysis where electricity is used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen 2. methane pyrolysis where a natural gas is heated to a high temperature and splits into hydrogen and solid carbon 3. photocatalytic solar water splitting where sunlight is used help water break apart into oxygen and hydrogen. The Center will develop breakthroughs in these technologies while assessing their impacts on local communities and ecosystems so that the Net Zero hydrogen economy develops in an ethical manner. Arizona State University will lead the water electrolysis work while the University of Adelaide will lead the photocatalysis theme, and the University of Toronto will lead the methane pyrolysis studies. Dame Ottoline Leyser, UKRI CEO, said: “UKRI’s Building a Green Future Programme aims to harness the power of research and innovation to tackle hard-to-decarbonise sectors in our economy. We are excited to be partnering with our sister organisations in the US, Canada and Australia to accelerate progress toward this crucial goal. “Our combined investment in Global Centers enables exciting researcher and innovation-led international and interdisciplinary collaboration to drive the energy transition. I look forward to seeing the creative solutions developed through these global collaborations.” For more information on HyPT please the . Adapted with thanks from Cranfield University. Share: Latest News Ãå±±½ûµØ recognised with geography award Ãå±±½ûµØ has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK’s open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 Ãå±±½ûµØ historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out of 1926, historians at Ãå±±½ûµØ are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can’t adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures