Hydrogen Capability Network

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) has started research projects on materials, thermofluids, and health & safety following the completion of a tendering process.

Rebecca Shaw, Technology and Strategy Analyst the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network, introduces the HCN’s network map for facilities, training, and research.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) have published a report on technological advantages in hydrogen and cryogenic testing technologies.

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network is inviting metal suppliers to contribute materials and expertise to a new cryogenic hydrogen testing initiative.

In May 2024 the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) announced a four-year strategic research programme on Cryogenic Hydrogen Materials Testing Standards (CHyMES) as one of three key priorities.

This programme, being developed in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), aims to enable product design and certification covering test standard development for the evaluation of mechanical, thermal, and physical material properties. Full details of the CHyMES programme activity and outputs are available in this presentation.

Now, the HCN is looking to engage with metal material suppliers who could supply free-of-charge materials into the programme and become part of the project steering board. The HCN steering board is an opportunity to be part of reviewing the outputs as they evolve and advising the project team.

A range of standard metals is required including 300 series stainless steels, aerospace grade Al alloys and Nickel alloys, to allow the data to be open access and comparable to existing literature values. Ideally, suppliers would be UK based, and the material will be in sheet, bar or rod format.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact the HCN’s Materials Fundamental Research Lead, Cameron Blackwell at Cameron.Blackwell@ati.org.uk. If you’re not able to contribute materials but would still like to engage with the HCN, email hydrogen@ati.org.uk.

Launched in April 2023 and funded by the Department for Business and Trade, the HCN is an ATI project set up to identify and deliver the key requirements to accelerate the development of a new era of liquid hydrogen-powered flight in the UK. The HCN mission is to secure long-term UK capability in zero-carbon emission aircraft and a competitive advantage for the UK aerospace sector. Continuation of the programme has been confirmed to at least April 2025.

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network is bringing experts together solve key challenges to realising hydrogen-powered aircraft. Discover the outcomes from HCN research workshops on cryogenic health and safety, thermofluids and materials.

Summaries from three workshops on key elements of enabling liquid hydrogen (LH2)-powered flight are now available to download.

The workshops, which took place earlier this year, form part of the Hydrogen Capability Network’s (HCN) work to convene experts to explore the pathway to enabling LH2 flight. Discover more in each of the summaries below:

Cryogenic Hydrogen Health and Safety Research Workshop Summary

Cryogenic Hydrogen Thermofluids Research Workshop

Cryogenic Hydrogen Materials Research Workshop Summary

Discover more from the HCN on the webpage or get in touch with the team by emailing hydrogen@ati.org.uk.

Helen Brocklehurst, Head of Skills & Research at the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN), discusses the gaps and priority areas for UK aerospace in the hydrogen skills landscape.

In the past year, the message from industry has been that organisations are struggling to recruit suitably qualified and experienced people to support the development of liquid hydrogen fuel storage and delivery systems on aircraft. In response, the HCN is recommending a set of pilot initiatives to accelerate action on skills and coordinate the sector’s skills needs in cryogenics and LH₂ systems.

Over the next year, we will be working with government to set up and deliver the following initiatives:

• Building a ‘hydrogen in aerospace’ community: Trialling ways to connect researchers and academics to industry through site tours and expert seminars. We plan to run hackathons, aerospace industry tours and a cryogenic hydrogen research conference to grow the community in this space. We’re particularly keen to link with researchers who work in different sectors to leverage their different perspectives for the aerospace industry.
• Signposting: A public database of UK and international training opportunities, which will be developed to promote PhD and employment opportunities. We’re keen to make this as comprehensive as possible and have been working with the Hydrogen Skills Alliance to populate this and welcome input from cross-sector skills providers.
• Explore Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities: working with delivery partners to identify routes for CPD.

These initiatives have been identified through talking to industry and have been inspired by tried-and-tested strategies from other sectors, including the Nuclear Skills Academy,  the Faraday Institution for battery technologies and the Alan Turing Institution.

Alongside this, the proposed hydrogen hubs and CHyMES project will provide opportunities for ‘learning by doing’ and will increase the sector’s knowledge, capability, and familiarity with dealing with cryogenics.

LH2 Research Conference

The HCN is planning a research conference to bring together UK experts in the field of cryogenic hydrogen materials, thermofluids and health & safety to share knowledge and expertise, build a community and signpost aerospace as a career path. This is likely to be held in the week commencing 6th January 2025 in or around London.

In order to help us shape such a conference and a suitable venue, please let us know if you are interested in attending or presenting your research by clicking on the link below:

Link to Research Conference interest form

HCN Network Map

The HCN recently launched a database to showcase the training courses, research projects and facilities that are present in the UK’s hydrogen in aerospace community – the first activity to signpost existing capabilities and training. The HCN Network Map is populated with entries from users across the community and is maintained by the HCN team. Through the Network Map, users are able to browse:

• Training opportunities focusing on many topics, ranging from hydrogen fundamentals to cryogenic fuel systems and propulsion.
• Hydrogen facilities and infrastructure projects that are available to access now or are planned to open in the future.
• Research projects taking place in the UK across academia and industry.

We encourage users from across our network to keep the Network Map up to date. To submit a new entry to this database, or suggest an edit, please visit the link below. Submissions will be reviewed periodically by the HCN team before being added to the Network Map.

Access the HCN Network Map here

Submit an entry to the HCN Network Map here

Staying in touch

To find out more about our work to develop the UK’s skills base, the HCN’s Skills Recommendations provides an overview of the UK’s current skills landscape, case studies from other sectors and the HCN’s plan of action through Phase 1 and beyond.

We will continue working with industry and academia to develop a strategy for a UK ‘hydrogen in aerospace’ skills roadmap. The HCN works closely with colleagues in the Aerospace Growth Partnership’s skills working group and the Hydrogen Skills Alliance amongst others to identify a route for a future cross-sector hydrogen academy.

Nour Eid, Head of Strategy & Commercial at the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network, discusses the gaps and priority areas for UK aerospace in the hydrogen test infrastructure landscape.

Last month the HCN published Securing Liquid Hydrogen Capability in the UK, in which we recommended the establishment of UK hydrogen test hubs to provide the required testing infrastructure, Liquid Hydrogen (LH₂) supply and appropriate health and safety handling requirements to satisfy the UK aerospace sector’s test needs.

Over the next 12 months, we will be starting work to secure the building and commissioning of two hubs – one at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Buxton, and another at Airbus’ Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) in Filton. These hubs will play a crucial role in meeting the technical and strategic requirements for UK-based infrastructure identified during the first 12 months of the HCN programme.

In the past year we have collated the demand signal for LH₂ testing in the UK. This has been informed by the testing plans from industry and has included the technical and strategic requirements for UK-based infrastructure. As part of this analysis, we looked at the immediate needs for testing at large volumes and with high LH₂ flow rates. This led to the conclusion that bespoke hydrogen test hubs are required in the UK to meet this testing demand. Both proposed hydrogen hubs will have an open-access model, allowing research and testing to be undertaken by UK entities who want to test in a representative LH₂ environment.

The HCN’s forecasted demand currently shows a quarterly average usage of 11-22 tonnes of LH₂ until around 2030. This is the equivalent of approximately 3 tankers delivering LH₂ into the UK each month.

Alongside the development of test hubs, we also identified a requirement to develop infrastructure for materials testing and development of standards. More information on our approach to can be found in our previous

The UK is at a turning point when it comes to hydrogen research and the HCN is keen to work with others in the community who are developing their hydrogen infrastructure. Testing at various scales has different requirements, and our objective is to create a network of UK test infrastructure that is complementary to each other and provides the sector with sufficient capacity and appropriate capability to satisfy the test demands.

HCN Network Map

The HCN has recently launched a database to showcase the training courses, research projects and facilities that are present in the UK’s hydrogen in aerospace community. The HCN Network Map is populated with entries from users across the community and is maintained by the HCN team. Through the Network Map, users will be able to browse:

• Hydrogen facilities and infrastructure projects which are available to access now or are planned to open in the future.
• Training opportunities focusing on many topics, ranging from hydrogen fundamentals to cryogenic fuel systems and propulsion.
• Research projects taking place in the UK across academia and industry

We encourage users from across our network to keep the Network Map up-to-date. To submit a new entry to this database, or suggest an edit, please visit the link below. Submissions will be reviewed periodically by the HCN team before being added to the Network Map.

Access the HCN Network Map Here

Submit an entry to the HCN Network Map here

A strategy for the future

Over the next 12 months we will be compiling a strategy that will consider what is required to support hydrogen testing in the UK over the next decade. This will identify the long-term requirements for larger-scale hydrogen testing, certification and demonstration in a representative airport environment. This will also include the UK’s supply of LH₂ and exploring price incentive mechanisms with Government.

We aim to keep working with colleagues within the UK aerospace sector, and those working in other sectors to best understand where intervention is required and how the HCN can support.

Huw Edwards, Hydrogen Cryogenic Specialist at the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network, discusses the process of identifying gaps and priority areas for UK aerospace in the cryogenic hydrogen research landscape.

Research

One of the key areas of focus for the initial phase of the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) has been the cryogenic hydrogen research landscape – specifically identifying the key gaps in knowledge and fundamental research that are limiting the development of a liquid hydrogen commercial aircraft.

Our initial focus has been on the aircraft fuel system, as we feel this is the most disruptive and least mature technology. The use of liquid hydrogen to date has been limited across all industries and there are a multitude of requirements in aircraft fuel systems that are new to liquid and cryogenic fluid management.

Materials testing

Very early on it became clear that one of the key factors limiting technology development in the UK is the lack of material property data for materials at liquid hydrogen conditions, and compounding this is the lack of validated or standardised test methods to generate this data. For the current ambitions of industry to bring aircraft into service by 2035 many cryogenic technologies need to achieve TRL 6 before 2030. This means materials testing and standards need to be developed as soon as possible.

The development of standards and test methods is a non-competitive area, which means it can be carried out collaboratively and bring the entire industrial and research community together. Building this knowledge will benefit the entire UK supply chain, unlock further R&D and build a broader UK skills base around cryogenics and LH2.

To tackle materials testing we have worked in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and interfaced with industry and academia to develop a research programme on Cryogenic Hydrogen Materials Testing Standards (CHyMES). The CHyMES project is a 4-year collaborative strategic research programme with the objectives of developing, validating and standardising materials test methods – and to provide the UK supply chain with these methods, initial material property data and enhanced knowledge around cryogenics. We will continue the partnership with NPL to co-lead the programme and work across universities and other research organisations to deliver this work.

As part of our analysis around cryogenic material testing, the HCN is also co-authoring a report with NPL to provide an overview of the international landscape in this area. This will be published later this year but an overview of the recent collaboration can be found here.

Further strategic research

Having identified materials test methods as a critical gap, we began to survey the rest of the landscape to identify other key gaps. We held workshops and consultations with industry and academia, and concluded that an overarching strategy is needed to align cryogenics and LH2 research activity with the sector’s industrial requirements.

Through those workshops, the HCN has highlighted the following topics as priority strategic research areas that the UK needs to develop. Over the next 12 months we will be working with subject matter experts to scope and develop research projects in the following areas:

• Cryogenic Hydrogen Thermofluids
• Cryogenic Hydrogen Health and Safety
• Fundamental Materials Behaviour in Cryogenic Hydrogen Environments

Alongside this, we will be designing a longer-term joint funding programme to support priority research topics that might arise in the future. We will continue working with colleagues in EPSRC, UKRI and other organisations who will help shape this longer-term vision.

To find out more about our work developing the UK’s research base and how we came to these conclusions, the following report is available to read and download:

• The HCN’s Research Proposal provides an overview of the case for intervention in this area as well as the HCN’s plan of action through Phase 1 and beyond.

The Hydrogen Capability Network plans to develop a pre-normative collaborative research proposal to boost the UK’s capabilities in cryogenic hydrogen. To support this, we are requesting bids for funded work packages: desk-based assessments of which organisations globally are active in this field, their capability and maturity, and specifically their experimental and modelling capabilities.

In this webinar, Helen Brocklehurst, Head of Skills & Research, Hydrogen Capability Network, ATI, outlines the scope, application process and timeline. HCN Phase 1 Research Tendering Process webinar (YouTube)

Supporting documents

To help with the application please refer to the:

HCN Phase 1 Research Tendering Process Report (PDF) – This report details the tendering process and timescales for each step to enable organisations to indicate their interest in contributing to this landscaping process.

HCN Phase 1 Research Tendering Process slides (PDF) – The slides shared in the webinar linked above are available here in PDF format.

FAQs (PDF) – we are publishing answers to all the questions being asked. This document was last updated on 2nd July 2024.

Closing date

The deadline for submission is 12th July 2024. Please contact the team at hydrogen@ati.org.uk for any questions or to submit your proposal.

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) is to focus on test infrastructure, research and skills as the three key enablers to hydrogen-powered aircraft technologies with the programme’s first report published today.

Launched in April 2023 and funded by the Department for Business and Trade, the HCN is an ATI project set up to identify and deliver the key requirements to accelerate the development of a new era of liquid hydrogen-powered flight in the UK. The HCN mission is to secure long-term UK capability in zero-carbon emission aircraft and a competitive advantage for the UK aerospace sector. Continuation of the programme has been confirmed to at least April 2025.

Over the past 12 months, the HCN has developed the key recommendations from the ATI’s FlyZero project, which identified liquid hydrogen as the zero-carbon emission fuel with the greatest potential to scale to large commercial aircraft. Recommendations taken forward by the HCN include examining liquid hydrogen (LH2) demand, R&D test requirements and UK capability gaps.

Industry Minister Alan Mak said: “The potential for using hydrogen as fuel is huge for the future of aviation, and we want our world-leading aerospace sector at the forefront of this new and emerging industry of zero emission air travel.

“I’m pleased to see the progress the ATI is making in leading the way on this cutting-edge work in its new report, helping our aerospace industry soar to new heights and supporting thousands of jobs while growing our economy.”

In its first report ‘Securing Liquid Hydrogen Capability in UK’, the HCN has identified the three immediate priorities for action:

• Test infrastructure: Establish at least two open access hydrogen test hubs to provide the required testing infrastructure, LH₂ supply and expertise to satisfy UK aerospace priority test needs.
• Research: Conduct a four-year strategic research programme on Cryogenic Hydrogen Materials Testing Standards (CHyMES) to enable product design and certification.
• Skills: Launch pilot initiatives to accelerate action on skills and coordinate the sector’s skills needs in cryogenics and LH₂

Delivering the three immediate priorities provides the UK with a strong foundation to achieve the longer-term ambitions for the UK hydrogen aerospace ecosystem: larger-scale testing, demonstration in an airport environment and ultimately the design and manufacture of liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies.

Laura Cuss, Programme Director, said: “Liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft are key to aviation’s decarbonisation journey and achieving Net Zero 2050. This revolutionary technology shift for aviation requires unprecedented coordination and collaboration between government, industry and academia to maximise UK market share.

“By establishing hydrogen technology test and demonstration infrastructure, progressing research priorities and tackling the skills gap, the HCN will ensure a coordinated approach to accelerate the development of hydrogen aircraft technologies in the UK.”

The HCN is also setting out to develop an overarching sector strategy and recommendations for longer-term strategic interventions for hydrogen research and development in the UK. This will include what interventions are required in the long term to further develop this ecosystem as understanding and testing becomes more mature.

This strategic overview will complement the ATI’s technology strategy Destination Zero, which focuses on priority technology areas for investment through the ATI Programme. It will also align with the work of the Jet Zero Council, which is investigating sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and the regulatory framework required to deliver zero emission transatlantic flight within a generation.

The ‘Securing Liquid Hydrogen Capability in UK’ report is available to download now on the ATI website, together with detailed reports on skills and research.

Hear Programme Director Laura Cuss speaking at Sustainable Skies World Summit on Thursday 16th May on the panel: Meeting the challenges for hydrogen integration.

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) has unveiled five initial interventions to accelerate the hydrogen economy in UK aerospace as the 12-month Phase 0 of the programme passes the half-way stage. The team delivered a webinar on 12th December to share more information on the progress of programme and to provide an overview of the five recommended interventions which are being developed by the team. The five intervention areas are:

1. Research Landscape
2. Materials Testing & Standards
3. Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Test Hubs
4. LH2 Supply
5. Skills & Training

For those who were unable to attend or would like to watch the webinar again, a recording is now available on YouTube:

You can also download a copy of the slides here.

A more detailed overview of the Materials Testing & Standards area (intervention 2) can be found through the links below:

• Materials Testing & Standards presentation recording [YouTube]
• Materials Testing & Standards Presentation [PDF]

For those interested in collaborating in this strand of work, you are invited to complete a short survey once for each role you could play in the proposed programme. The deadline to complete this survey is 17:00 on Friday 5^th January 2024. Click here to complete the survey.

For any questions, or to get in touch with the HCN team, please send an email to hydrogen@ati.org.uk

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) has published a proposed intervention for a Liquid Hydrogen Materials Test Method Standardisation programme. This proposal is one of five initial interventions revealed as the 12-month Phase 0 programme passes the half-way stage.

Full details of the materials testing intervention are highlighted in the recording below and presentation available here.

We are now looking for engagement with potential future members of the proposed network for delivering and steering the programme. We would like to hear from you if you see yourself being part of this future network and we have created a short survey to complete by 17:00 on Friday 5th January 2024.

You are invited to complete the survey once for each role you could play in the proposed programme.

Tuesday 12th December 2023
14:00 – 15:30

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) has been set up to secure a competitive advantage for UK aerospace through a world leading collaborative network. Launched in April 2023, Phase 0 of this project has been defining a coherent approach to skills development, infrastructure and hydrogen supply to secure long-term UK capability.

The HCN has now reached the half-way point of Phase 0 and the last six months has been filled with gathering requirements from across the sector and distilling those into defined interventions and next steps.

The HCN has focused on five areas which need immediate support:

1. Research Coordination & Delivery
2. Materials Testing & Standards
3. Test & Demonstration
4. Liquid Hydrogen Supply
5. Skills & Training

This webinar will share key learnings, provide an update on progress and answer any questions from you.

This is an open invite, so please feel free to share the registration link with colleagues in your network who may be interested in hearing more about the Hydrogen Capability Network.

More than 50 attendees from over 15 Universities and RTOs joined a research workshop at the AIRC at Cranfield on Wednesday 13^th September. Delivered by UK-ARC and the ATI Hydrogen Capability Network, the event focused on the research challenges associated with delivering hydrogen powered flight.

The morning session focused on showcasing the current UK research capabilities in hydrogen aerospace related topics, including propulsion, combustion, hydrogen safety, electrical and fuel cells, hydrogen tanks and fuel delivery systems. The presentations will also help to generate a map of the UK capability landscape, which can be used to link together research and industry and stimulate new alliances.

Led by Cranfield University, the afternoon session discussed hydrogen ‘on the aircraft’ sub-topics and drew out a great number of contacts to help form research communities and build the narratives to reflect research knowledge and add project engagements.

The information will be digested with the aim of formulating plans to identify research gaps and generate plans to address these through closer collaboration supporting the Hydrogen Capability Network, growing the UK-ARC community and moving towards research project definition.

Virtual meetings and workshops are being considered to build on engagement opportunities from the event.

The ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network is continuing to work on hydrogen skills and research capability with recent updates summarised below:

• A joint workshop with the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) to understand skills gaps and demand for aerostructures took place on 12th July. Three further workshops are planned on gas turbines, fuel cells and electrical systems and systems integration (including tanks and fuel systems) with dates to be confirmed.
• We are working with cross-sector hydrogen organisations on future skills requirements including the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII) and the Hydrogen Skills Alliance (HSA). Liquid hydrogen (LH2) technology, skills and research is still immature meaning collaboration is required to accelerate learning.
• A workshop is planned for Wednesday 13th September with UK Aerospace Research Consortium (UK-ARC) to identify gaps in research to support LH2 flight.

Hydrogen training courses

As part of this background research a list of organisations offering hydrogen-related training has been collated and will be published on the Hydrogen Capability Network page of the ATI website soon. In advance of this, below is a list of upcoming courses from some of these providers which may be of interest to this community.

• 16th – 17th October: Clean hydrogen: technologies, economics and growth pathways by IMechE (imeche.org)
• 6th – 10th November: Cranfield short course – Hydrogen for civil aviation – H2 in the aircraft by Cranfield University (cranfield.ac.uk)
• 29th – 30th November: Green hydrogen by IMechE (imeche.org)
• 20th – 22nd November: Cranfield short course – Hydrogen: fundamentals and materials challenges by Cranfield University (cranfield.ac.uk)

Please note the Hydrogen Capability Network is sharing these courses for awareness and in doing so does not endorse these courses or training providers. We would encourage you to check the course details against your learning objectives.

View the August 2023 update from the Hydrogen Capability Network team here.