“ The larger the mass you ’ re moving , and longer the distance , the more likely you ’ re going to need hydrogen over battery-electric ”
ENTERPRISE DX
“ The larger the mass you ’ re moving , and longer the distance , the more likely you ’ re going to need hydrogen over battery-electric ”
Dr TOM MASON CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER , BRAMBLE ENERGY
The cost of production currently is a major barrier to the adoption of green hydrogen , which is produced solely with renewable sources ; it is approximately six times more expensive today than grey hydrogen to produce and between two to three times more expensive than hybrid blue hydrogen , both of which are produced using fossil fuels as an energy source .
Startup profile : Bramble Energy One man at the emerging hydrogen front line is Dr Tom Mason , CEO at Bramble Energy , who claims its printed circuit board technology ( PCBFC ) offers a more flexible , cheaper and scalable option to traditional fuel cells , up to 75 % cheaper than incumbent fuel cell stacks .
The startup has raised £ 9m to date , and he is confident of raising more by the end of this year . “ I ’ ve got very significant support – we ’ re in a market which is very buoyant for hydrogen technologies , and we have to be ambitious . It ’ s the only way we ’ re going to achieve net-zero .”
The company is currently working with three customers involved in industrial , construction and surveillance , and aims for commercial launch this year . The headcount at its Gatwick-side , 13,500sq ft design-and-development facility has jumped from 3 to 25 in just under a year , and another 50 are coming .
He outlines the thesis behind its portable power range . “ Batteries are very powerful but don ’ t have a lot of energy in them . Our customers are looking to run things that are relatively unpowerful but want to run them for a long period of time . Hydrogen is a solution because it ’ s low power with lots of energy .”
It has tied up with launch distributor BOC , part of the Linde Group , to launch four units ( 15W , 30W , 45W and 60W ) up to 1KW . They hold 20 litres , about the size of your patio
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