Levidian deploys its 'LOOP' technology to produce sustainable green hydrogen in UK

British technology firm Levidian is demonstrating its one-of-its kind, advanced hydrogen project that can generate truly-sustainable hydrogen energy from bio-waste in the United Kingdom. The innovative project has been conceived for the country's largest listed water company United Utilities. 

Levidian and United Utilities are working to decarbonize wastewater treatment, by deploying Levidian's patented 'LOOP' technology to capture carbon and produce graphene and hydrogen from biogas as a fully sustainable feedstock.

The company claims that the the project will help address two key issues facing the industry - how to process wastewater in a way that reduces emissions while minimizing the financial burden of wastewater treatment. 

Levidian's 'LOOP' technology will enable United Utilities to produce their own on-site hydrogen for use in its fleet of heavy-duty vehicles. The companies will also be exploring potential use cases for the graphene, which can be used to enhance a variety of products including batteries, construction materials and coatings.

Lisa Mansell, Chief Engineer (Innovation) at United Utilities, commented on the project, "This is a hugely exciting project for us, and the wider water sector, transforming something that has previously been a waste product into two high value products in the form of hydrogen and graphene". 

"We're looking forward to running our trial at our Manchester Bioresources Centre in order to prove the potential of the technology. If successful, we could then look to apply it at wastewater treatment sites across the North West", she added. 

The project is expected to save the emission of almost 50 tonnes of methane and produce around 10 tonnes of hydrogen each year.

The sustainable green hydrogen plant has has received £3 million of funding from DESNZ's Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme, which supports technologies that can produce hydrogen from biogenic feedstocks and be combined with carbon capture in the country. 

'LOOP' technology seamlessly docks with existing infrastructure to strip carbon from methane, helping businesses to decarbonize instantly, the company claims. It can be can be deployed to any site that produces methane (such as a wastewater treatment plant) or uses natural gas.

Upon installing LOOP, the average business could reduce the CO2 potential of their natural gas by up to 40% instantly by replacing it with hydrogen, a more sustainable fuel, adds Levidian.