Uni of Aberdeen awarded funding to transform food waste into hydrogen
The UK Government awarded the university £220,000
The University of Aberdeen have been awarded £220,000 of funding from the UK Government to obtain hydrogen energy from organic food waste.
It'll enable research into whether the waste can be transformed on a business and commercial scale.
It could be a vital step in the UK reaching their net zero goals, with aims to decarbonise all sectors by 2050.
It's to be led by Professor Davide Dionisi, from the University's Department of Chemistry, he commented: "Hydrogen is a key energy vector in the energy transition, and generating hydrogen from organic waste would achieve the combined benefits of reducing environmental pollution and of generating green sustainable energy.
"So far there is no commercial process that produces hydrogen from organic waste, but our proposed process combines waste treatment with energy generation and can be entirely powered from renewable electricity, thereby providing a more sustainable alternative to other processes for hydrogen production from non-renewable and renewable resources.
"Our process aims to reduce the amount of land we need in renewable energy", added Prof Dionisi.
It could save up to 30% of land that would be used solar and wind energy, if the research is successful.
UK Government Energy Minister, Greg Hands, said:
“Accelerating home-grown renewables like biomass is a key part of ending our dependency on expensive and volatile fossil fuels. This £37 million of government investment will support innovation across the UK, boosting jobs whilst ensuring greater energy security for years to come.”