British firms collaborate to advance safe transition to clean energy
Above: (left to right) Barnbrook managing director Andrew Barnett, Protium business development executive Kathryn Clamp and Protium chief operating officer Jon Constable in front of booster stages of the Black Arrow rocket, built as part of a British space flight programme in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Courtesy Barnbrook
This technology will be used to support the increasing number of trials and projects undertaken by hard-to-abate sectors, like transport and industry, as they look to transition to clean energy.
By their very nature, all fuels have some degree of danger associated with them and hydrogen is no different as it has a wide flammable range.
Barnbrook has developed the BlueDot remote sensing device to monitor changes in pressure and track for leaks, as well as changes in temperature or humidity.
Fixed to an individual cannister of hydrogen, BlueDot transmits data in real time to enable an immediate alert, should the pressure or other variables change, as well as feeding into ongoing reporting.
This means that the MCPs (pressurised cannisters) can be tracked and monitored when being refilled at Pioneer 1, Protium’s hydrogen production facility (HPF) and during transportation and deployment.
Based in South Wales, Pioneer 1 is one of the UK’s first HPFs to supply green hydrogen for commercial use.
It is also Protium’s first HPF and has been operating for 16-months, building critical experience and expertise along with powering multiple hydrogen trials and projects for customers that include Wales & West Utilities and South Wales Transport.
Protium plans to open a second HPF in Wales in Q4 2024, with a 2.5Mw electrolyser to support multiple sectors. This electrolyser, twenty-five times larger than Pioneer 1, will produce a tonne of green hydrogen daily.
Andrew Barnett, Managing Director, Barnbrook Systems, said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Protium and use this market-leading digital technology to advance the safety and use of green hydrogen.
“We believe that green hydrogen is a gamechanger for many organisations in the race to meet the UK Government’s 2050 net zero target.”
Jon Constable, Protium’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are developing projects at pace for customers, and digital technologies, such as BlueDot, are critical in advancing safety and continuous improvements in the design, optimisation and operation of our plants.
“It’s great to work with a likeminded company like Barnbrook that recognises green hydrogen’s critical role in the energy transition.”
The partnership was officially announced at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow with Mr Barnett, Mr Constable and Barnbrook business development executive Kathryn Clamp.
Kathryn, director of KC4business Ltd, has been facilitating discussions between Andrew and Jon on the partnership journey.
Barnbrook, with nearly 50 staff, is attending the airshow for the 14th consecutive time but the first without its founder the late Tony Barnett, who started the business in 1978.
Its innovative solutions on show include its inflight refuelling switch for civil and military helicopters and the next generation of its BlueCube© remote monitoring systems.
