The Hydrogen Production Unit (HyPod) of the PURE Energy Centre in conjunction with Fuel Cell Scotland is creating a development of off-grid hydrogen homes in Unst, Shetland Islands. Last year I had talked about how PURE was developing a wind farm project on Unst, Scotland to turn wind energy into hydrogen, which would then be converted to electricity via fuel cells.
Unst is particularly suited at the northern edge of the British Isles for turbines as it consistently has an excess of wind in the region. The ambition is for Unst to become the world’s first small-scale hydrogen economy.
According to PURE’s plans, the first stage of development is for two homes to use Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, providing the heating and electrical needs for the houses. The energy will be supplied by hydrogen and fuel cells. In the second stage, each home will provide for its own hydrogen-generated electricity and heat.
The last stage will be the development of hydrogen fueling stations for the homes along with hydrogen cars in each garage. The goal is for each home to become its own zero emissions power station, which utilizes wind turbines, hydrogen and fuel cells for renewable and sustainable energy. Home, Sweet, Zero Emissions Home may just be the placard hanging on the walls of these houses.