We have now reached the stage where all the equipment needed to commence the HyDeploy trial is on site, has been fitted and tested, so we are ready to go. It has been a huge team effort led by Cadent involving several partners such as ITM-Power, NGN and Progressive Energy and a number of contractors such as Simkiss, Otto Simon Ltd and Thyson Technology to name just a few of the people who we have been working closely with. Cadent’s West Mids operational teams have been trained on how to work with hydrogen networks and have been involved on the site throughout the build along with elements of Safety and Network Strategy.

The compound which, at first glance, consists of a series of green metal boxes of differing shapes and sizes, is made up of the following key equipment:

• An electrolyser built and fitted by ITM-Power
• A Power Supply Unit and Buffer (mini storage) tank that is part of the electrolyser package
• A range of electrical equipment
• Pipework that will transport both hydrogen and natural gas
• A Grid Entry Unit built by Thyson Technology Ltd

The compound is not open to the public for obvious reasons but there are plans to install an information panel to explain more about the equipment so that visitors in months to come can be kept informed.

Andy Lewis of Cadent commented: “It’s been a successful installation and a learning opportunity for all of us. As this is cutting edge technology we have inevitably had some delays and challenges but nothing we couldn’t overcome”.