ITM Power PLC (LON:ITM) shares jumped in late-morning trading Thursday as the HyDeploy consortium, of which it is a member, received a £14.9mln grant by UK energy regulator Ofgem to perform hydrogen trials on the public gas network.
HyDeploy is a project aiming to blend up to 20% hydrogen into an existing natural gas network in a bid to help the UK dramatically cut carbon emissions.
READ: ITM Power chief hails ground-breaking hydrogen pilot study
The two new trials, which will involve 750 homes each, follows an energy pilot that was greenlit at the start of November to pump Hydrogen into the closed gas system at Keele University.
The hydrogen for the trials will be produced using ITM’s electrolyser, which uses an electrical current to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. When burned at end use, for example in a home central system, this hydrogen will produce only heat and water - in stark contrast to natural gas, which releases carbon into the atmosphere.
HyDeploy said the four-year programme, to begin next year, was aiming to build support for a wider roll-out which could save the same amount of carbon as taking 2.5mln cars off the road.
Graham Cooley, chief executive of ITM, said the trials were “a natural second step” for the HyDeploy consortium following the Keele trial.
ITM shares were up 3.5% at 26.9p