image: Aston University part of £800,000 project to create clean hydrogen from waste steam
Credit: Aston University
- An Aston University researcher receives £250,000 of funding to create low-carbon energy from waste steam produced by nuclear energy plants
- The project has been awarded a total of £800,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Research aims to lower the demand for expensive electrical power by partially replacing it with waste heat.
An Aston University researcher is part of a UK-wide project to create low-carbon energy from waste steam produced by nuclear energy plants.
The project has been awarded a total of £800,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to advance next-generation hydrogen production technology.
This research, METASIS 2.0 is led by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in partnership with Aston, the University of Surrey, and the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). Also involved are more than a dozen other partners spanning industry, academia, research and network alliances.
Dr Amirpiran Amiri, a senior lecturer at Aston’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) with more than 10 years of experience in research and development, has received £250,000 of the funding. He said: “Here in Birmingham, in collaboration with our academic and industry partners, we are exploring various approaches to reduce the cost and carbon footprint of hydrogen production.
“METASIS 2.0 is a promising project in this effort, as it aims to lower the demand for expensive electrical power by partially replacing it with waste heat.”
The project will pioneer advances in solid oxide steam electrolysers (SOSE), a highly efficient technology that produces clean hydrogen using electricity and heat from renewable and nuclear sources. This builds on the work of researchers who have designed a tubular cell that can withstand the high temperatures associated with SOSE systems which operate at between 600 °C to 900 °C.
The collaboration highlights the UK’s commitment to advancing innovative, low-carbon hydrogen technologies that can integrate with both renewable and nuclear energy systems. The METASIS project is a significant step toward achieving affordable, sustainable hydrogen production to support the nation’s net-zero ambitions.
Professor Nadimul Faisal who is leading the research said: "Hydrogen is central to achieving the UK’s net-zero goals. This investment allows us to push forward the science and engineering needed to make solid oxide steam electrolysis commercially viable, while creating new opportunities for sustainable innovation in partnership with industry."