Wales & West Utilities (WWU) has announced it will lead a project to further develop an electrolyzer, which can produce green H₂ from highly contaminated industrial wastewater sources. Working with HydroStar and Cardiff University, the new technology will be used for water high in micro plastic and heavy metal pollution, which would normally be unsuitable for the process.

Green H₂ production typically requires highly purified water, which is expensive and puts high demands on the energy and water system, as well as needing energy intensive water purification plants. The pollutant removal process also produces H₂ and oxygen as byproducts, which can be captured as high value goods to recover the energy costs of pollutant removal from the water.

By combining pollutant removal with the low-carbon H₂ production process, the device is expected to reduce operational barriers, enabling the delivery of lower-cost green H₂ to customers. The pollutant removal process also produces H₂ and oxygen as byproducts, which can be captured as high value goods to recover the energy costs of pollutant removal from the water.

The project builds on, and complements, planned future phases of the NextGen electrolyzer project, which is supported by Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund. The NextGen prototype uses wastewater, like rainwater, to produce green H₂. This phase will also drive research and development into new electrode designs to optimize the existing NextGen unit.

Matt Hindle, Head of Net Zero & Sustainability at Wales & West Utilities said, “This is an exciting opportunity to build on the work already underway as part of the existing NextGen concept. We see H₂ playing a significant role in a future energy system, however, there are currently high operational barriers and costs associated with its production.”