As disrupted supply chains and the Ukraine war leave us in a global energy crisis, fossil fuels continue to dominate as the main energy resource, with our reliance on these leaving us exposed, as energy giants continue to announce staggering windfalls despite wholesale prices going down.
Furthermore, with the UK government phasing out fossil-fuel boilers in off-grid homes, many of the solutions being touted as the answer are expensive, only beneficial to large-scale industries, and decades away. This makes the need for an alternative pressing, and undeniable.
As the backdrop of corporate control and an uncertain fuel future results in trepidation for consumers, The First Element is offering an achievable and attractive alternative, designed to meet their needs.
With finding a solution to the issue higher on the agenda than ever before, The First Element, a team of experts from the fields of technology, science, and engineering, is tackling the energy problem with an innovative grassroots approach, designed to democratise and bring fuel in-house, helping facilitate the switch from carbon-based fuels to green hydrogen.
Amy Hedger, The First Element co-founder says, “With hydrogen now a key component of many global governments’ net zero strategies, it is set to play a significant role in reaching net zero as we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. However, the current focus is predominantly on large-scale industrial projects with long lead times, leaving little immediate benefit for the consumer. We believe that to deliver real change for all, we need to step away from an individualistic corporate approach, and instead collaborate, coming together to innovate for the greater good. This is something we are passionate about at The First Element. We can already see how much we’re set to achieve, simply by working together to help make the positive power of green hydrogen accessible to all.”
The poster child of the environmentally friendly movement, green hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy from on or off the grid, resulting in net zero emissions. However, as with early solar and wind power schemes, the process is currently expensive and comes with its own set of challenges. So, in a move to make green hydrogen accessible to the masses, The First Element is revolutionising the way it is created, used, and stored.
Designing and building an end-to-end hydrogen Smart Tank and integrated IOT software solution using innovative hydride storage solutions, The First Element is now developing a range of products based on its Smart Tank technology, with the group hoping to enable the safe, accessible, and scalable generation and storage of green hydrogen for all.
By generating hydrogen from cheaper, off-peak electricity, and eliminating the expense and inconvenience of LPG delivery, The First Element’s solution brings hydrogen generation and storage safely on-site and in-house, with the distribution headaches removed. In addition, the smart technology will address the key concerns of safety during production, storage, and use, as well as monitoring production efficiencies and the cost and availability of the renewable electricity being used.
Being supported in its journey by and in collaboration with government, alongside several supply chain and end-user stakeholders, The First Element has collaborated with Sustainable Ventures Design, funded by an Innovate UK Design Foundations grant, and most recently has received investment from NextSTEP Energy.
Claudio Colombo, Director and Member of the Investment Committee at NextSTEP says, “This project represents a new milestone for NextSTEP and its mission to help accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future. We were drawn to investing in The First Element due to their strong commitment to doing things differently, developing a solution that’s small and scalable, but everywhere. We strongly believe in their grassroots approach and are excited to see the bold innovation they have in the pipeline and the brilliant progress they’re making. Thanks to the investment on The First Element’s project, NextSTEP’s range is expanding in the UK, enlarging its geographical footprint to provide worldwide solutions to the critical challenges of our time.”
Furthermore, partnering with Nottingham University and Coventry University, The First Element is also working with top-level academic institutions and individuals, including The First Element’s co-founder, Professor Nigel Brandon OBE FREng FRS, who is also Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London.
Professor Brandon says, “Green hydrogen has great potential for catering to widespread energy needs, particularly those off grid, who are more likely to experience fuel poverty. When innovating, a huge part of the process for us has been how to drive costs down, and we believe that now is the time to tap into hydrogen’s potential to scale up technologies and play a key role in a clean, secure, and more affordable energy future. From small domestic applications to larger industrial ones, we are working toward enabling businesses and consumers to make a meaningful contribution to net zero, by generating their own green hydrogen fuel on-site, using only water and electricity from renewable sources. Complex problems need innovative solutions, and we believe a collaborative approach is the only way to affect meaningful change. So, we’re building a network across both existing and emerging Hydrogen ecosystems to achieve our mission, and as we look to the future, we are also exploring ways in which we might support the grid and other uses for hydrogen.”
So, with The First Element working toward democratising energy for all, the future’s looking green.
For more information on The First Element, visit https://thefirstelement.com/
