How does the science work?
We are developing a ground-breaking new system for the production of hydrogen, via decoupled electrolysis, which aims to make using hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels significantly safer, simpler and cheaper in comparison to conventional systems available today.
The process is being developed on the back of research carried out by the world-leading School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. Clyde Hydrogen’s technology utilises a liquid mediator solution which allows the production of oxygen and hydrogen via water splitting to be carried out in two separate locations, timing and rates. The electrochemical step (electrolysis) releases the oxygen, and the hydrogen ions transfer to the liquid. The hydrogen is only released as a gas when the “charged” mediator is passed over a catalyst in a separate high-pressure reactor, allowing for fast and efficient high pressure hydrogen production.
This process offers many advantages, such as safety, flexibility and costs. Crucially, our system can be connected direct to renewable power and store the hydrogen in a non-gaseous form, solving many of the industry’s biggest obstacles and offering a real solution to long-term energy storage. We see huge advantages not only in low-cost hydrogen production but also in long-term energy storage and decentralised production for sites such as mobility refuelling.
When was the company set up?
Clyde Hydrogen was initially formed in 2022, but the main technology development began in 2023 following the appointment of our chief technology officer, Matt Lees. The research stemmed from the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry led by Professors Symes and Cronin, and prior to the appointment of Matt, the team continued work on developing the chemistry.
How many members of staff do you have?
We currently have four full-time employees, one part-time research student (PhD), and two consultants.
The full-time employees are Matt, two research engineers, and myself as chief executive. The engineers and the student are continuing to test and develop our process as well as building and testing the prototype. Matt is formerly from PEM electrolyser company ITM and is hands-on, building the system with the engineers.
Whilst Professor Cronin is not actively involved in our day-to-day business, Professor Symes is our chief scientific officer. We are based out of his office at the University of Glasgow, and he provides ongoing support and input.
We also receive support from Jos Trehern who acts as a consultant as well as charman, and his previous experience in building and selling a software company business in the energy space is invaluable.
What else can you tell us about the prototype system?
It’s our first fully-integrated prototype, based at the University of Glasgow in the Hydrogen Innovation Centre. It is currently restricted to 1kg/day due to it being in the laboratory but could run up to 10kg/day.
We are still evaluating what our first product should be, but the expectation is a 10-250kg/day containerised system. The prototype not only demonstrates how the system works but enables us to continue the development of our technology as we can easily swap out components and model different operational scenarios to help provide data as we scale the system.
How much money has the company raised to date?
Our pre-seed round of approximately £1 million came from the University of Glasgow, Zinc VC, Ecotricity, One Planet Capital and private angel investors. We have also received more than £700,000 in grant support.
What will you do with a further £5m?
The main use of funds for this raise is to allow us to move into our own small industrial unit as we are unable to build a larger system at the university. It will fund a larger commercial demonstration system for deployment in a real-world application; we also need to hire additional staff.
This raise would get us to our first certified commercial product, at which point we could begin generating revenue and look at options for raising the necessary scale-up capital.
When do you hope to have a full commercial system ready to go to the market?
We are aiming to deliver a certified product in 2028. We expect our first customers to be those requiring smaller systems in decentralised/local production or energy storage applications such as industrial sites or logistics facilities.
How did you get involved with the company?
I joined in October 2024 having spent 30 years in aerospace but the last four years at hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion developer, ZeroAvia. As chief operating officer at ZeroAvia, I saw the massive potential for hydrogen across many hard-to-abate sectors – not just aviation – and that the infrastructure challenge around hydrogen production was likely to delay the uptake if new solutions were not developed. Once I saw the potential of the system from Clyde Hydrogen, I wanted to help take it to a commercial product as quickly as possible.
What are your ambitions for the business?
My ambition is that Clyde Hydrogen becomes a world leader in hydrogen production and energy storage technology, manufactured in Scotland with systems installed globally delivering low-cost hydrogen and providing efficient utilisation and grid balancing of renewable energy.
What is the most valuable lesson that you have learned in your career, and how does this apply to Clyde Hydrogen?
I think the most valuable lesson I have learned is that velocity is everything: start-ups struggle if they don’t show continuous progress because the investment cash dries up fast.
So, our focus is using every penny of investor and grant funding as carefully as we can and ensuring it takes us to our next milestone. It’s also vital that we show the commercial viability of the technology and start to build pre-order interest from the market as we are able to show that the system works and delivers real world impact.
