H2GO Power, in partnership with the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) and Imperial College London, is exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) software coupled with hydrogen technology.

The HyAI (Hydrogen Artificial Intelligence) initiative, sponsored by Innovate UK and the Sustainable Innovation Fund, is a pilot demonstration of AI software-controlled hydrogen storage technology. HyAI can demonstrate how hydrogen-integrated applications can make smart, data-driven asset management decisions in real time and maximize the introduction of renewable energy into the UK electricity grid.

The project, led by London-based H2GO Power, developers of low-pressure hydrogen energy storage and AI-driven asset management tools, has combined an advanced AI software framework with one of the company’s hydrogen storage units.

AI as management system

Using the energy data generated by EMEC from its Hydrogen Production Plant in Orkney, the AI platform functions as an energy management system, incorporating data on weather, power prices and grid management. It then transforms this information using AI predictive algorithms to maximize the operation of storage systems by forecasting potential power costs and user requirements. The Computer Science Department of Imperial College London assists HyAI in data management and simulation.

With the HyAI project demonstration ongoing and live until the summer of 2021, initial findings have shown that the AI-enabled solution will deliver hydrogen in a more cost-effective fashion, while also helping to minimize pressure on the national grid. This has the potential to improve electricity reliability, allow for higher deployment of renewable energy, and drive the transition to a net zero-emission economy.

Exciting partnership

Building on this initiative, the next steps are to promote the commercial demonstration of H2GO Power’s AI software platform and hydrogen storage power technologies. To this end, H2GO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with EMEC to deploy and implement the technology at EMEC’s Orkney test site in the future. This thrilling partnership will be piloted by the first energy storage device to store renewable energy on demand as a non-pressurized solid-state hydrogen, together with the AI tech platform.