Green hydrogen firm Protium has produced its first molecules from its second facility in the UK ahead of launching full operations next month.
The South Wales-based 5MW Pioneer 2 facility uses two Nel PEM electrolysers to produce up to one tonne of green hydrogen per day.
Protium started constructing the containerised plant in November 2025, after securing customer commitments. The firm expects to begin delivering hydrogen to customers from June.
In its online statement, Protium said the 5MW plant was a “response to market demand.”
Without naming end-users, the company said the plant will supply hydrogen for transport, industrial, off-grid power, and specialist applications.
The firm uses trucks carrying manifolded cylinder pallets, mini trailers, and multi-element gas cylinder tube trailers to deliver the gas to customers.
The new plant has some 25 times the production capacity of Protium’s inaugural 100kW plant, also in South Wales, which uses AEM electrolyser technology. The Pioneer 1 project has been operational since 2023.
The project had been positioned as a key supplier for a planned hydrogen trucking corridor between South Wales and London, which was being developed by Protium’s HyHaul subsidiary with government funding.
However, last December, the £14m ($19m) grant was pulled after the project failed to secure leasing agreements for the expected 40 hydrogen trucks that could have been deployed.
While Pioneer 2 expands UK merchant hydrogen supply capacity, wider project deployment remains constrained by policy uncertainty around transport and storage infrastructure.
Lobby groups have been urging the UK government to deliver its delayed hydrogen strategy update and finalise a scheme for the transport and storage of hydrogen to unlock momentum.
