Hydrogen power for river projects
2 March 2023
TCP (Taylor Construction Plant) is supplying the civil engineering firm Jackson with a system incorporating a hydrogen fuel cell to power a site compound in Northamptonshire.
Jackson has been working on behalf of the Environment Agency (EA) to maintain canal locks along the River Nene. The site compounds are small and located away from the grid, and so a compact eco-friendly situation was required.
Welfare cabins supplied by Algeco have been adapted to accommodate energy efficient air source heat pumps, and TCP group have provided their Eco-GH2 hydrogen fuel cell unit, 15kVA/60kWh battery inverter unit, and hydrogen fuel cylinder carrier, as well as a full managed gas service and remote monitoring services. TCP also selected solar panels (pictured below) for the project.
By combining hydrogen and air in the presence of a catalyst, the fuel cell generates electricity to charge the battery, with water vapour as the only by-product.
“It is a compact site and the fuel cell in tandem with the solar panels is meeting the energy demand of the adapted welfare cabins, rather than using a diesel generator,” TCP Director Joe Ambor told me. “The equipment is also silent in operation.”
TCP has provided similar equipment for a number of seasonal EA projects on the River Nene taking place early this year.
