ITM Power has been awarded a grant under the Technology Strategy Board's Smart Power Distribution and Demand competition. The 12-month project will commence in July.

The UK quotient of renewable energy generation is due to increase by a factor of five over the next decade, and this will dramatically increase supply unpredictability. Coupled with existing curtailment traffic and distribution network bottlenecks, this presents a significant technical and financial challenge.

ITM Power is collaborating in a partnership which includes the Scottish Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association (SHFCA), and Kiwa Gastec at CRE, on the £164 000 (US$265 000) feasibility study.

The project includes preliminary logistical research, system development, the creation of a generation model, and the simulation of hydrogen production at a single wind farm.

ITM Power has developed a flexible hydrogen generation and refuelling platform which offers a sustainable supply of hydrogen for transport vehicles, as well as meeting the challenge of integration with renewable energy.

ITM Power recently hooked up with Logan Energy Ltd to jointly tender for hydrogen energy storage projects in Scotland. And last autumn the company signed a deal with the Dutch Fuel Cell Consortium to cooperate on developing hydrogen energy storage applications in the Benelux region.