UK-based, GeoPura develops the “Hydrogen Power Unit” (HPU), a 6m portable shipping container, which can provide 250kVA of (standard three-phase 400V) electrical power (backed up by an 216kWh battery system) to replace on-site diesel generators (with an emissions-free alternative i.e. hydrogen). The HPUs are used – for temporary, supplementary, off grid & backup power – in a) electrical power industry, e.g. National Grid uses one to power low-voltage equipment for innovation testing projects & site operations (trialing it as a potential direct replacement for backup diesel generators across <250 substation sites); Uniper has used one as back-up during a 3-month maintenance outage at one of its plants (to power the outage village, incl. welfare facilities & EV charging for all electric vehicles on site), b) construction, e.g. HS2 uses two HPUs to power machinery on sites; Balfour Beatty’s has done the same, c) EV charging & transport, e.g. Villa Cora uses one (as the spare electrical network capacity) to power a bank of rapid EV chargers (in partnership with Polestar), and even d) film & tv production & events e.g. the BBC used HPUs to power each of the 12 live Springwatch broadcasts as well as Winterwatch; the Goodwood Festival of Speed uses HPUs, among others, to power EVs at the First Glance Paddock. Finally, GeoPura is also partnering with Siemens Energy & Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), to innovate in the actual production of hydrogen, notably by developing a new ammonia cracker prototype (using FFI’s “Metal Membrane Technology” purification process: “we know that green hydrogen can be transported long distances as green ammonia & if successful, ammonia cracking coupled with MMT means that you can convert it as you need to, at the point of use”). Founded by Andrew Cunningham (CEO) in 2018 with support from Theo Elmer (Chief Architect), the HPU was officially launched at the 2019 Clean Air Day. With the new funding, GeoPura plans to deploy a fleet of <3,600 HPUs by 2033, thereby displacing <6m tons of CO2 (or 1,800 tons per HPU) over their operational lifetime (fun fact: that’s the equivalent of 0.5m cars driving around the world once). The global green hydrogen economy could reach $10tn & supply 25% of energy demand by 2050 (& up to 30% in that same timeframe in the UK); startups like GeoPura are certainly helping accelerate the trend. <Source: impact-investor.com, hydrogen-central.com>
