It was recently announced by Protium Green Solutions that they have developed plans to create a second hydrogen production facility. This facility will be based within the UK and it has been decided upon, due to the success seen in the operations of Protium’s other plant, Pioneer 1.

The plans have stated that the new plant will be scheduled to open on Q4 2024 and the plant will be named ‘Pioneer 2’. The opening of this plant will make Protium the ‘only’ company in the UK to have two facilities that are both dedicated to using renewables to produce hydrogen and are also both fully operational.

The new facility will use a 2.5MW electrolyser, which will effectively align with the plans for this new plant, as the company is aiming for Pioneer 2 to be ten times larger than Pioneer 1. This impressive size will help Pioneer 2 to achieve the goals that have been set out for it. These will predominantly focus on reducing carbon emissions by 156,000 tonnes every year.

These goals were created due to the success that Pioneer 1 has seen since March 2023. So far, this plant has been able to produce hydrogen in large enough amounts for it to be used within trials for fleets and transport. This task has been conducted through collaborations with various customers, all of which are from the UK. For example, one of these customers was First Hydrogen, who used Protium’s produced hydrogen to power certain vehicles. It was through the use of Protium’s Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions’ refuelling unit that First Hydrogen was able to power their zero-emissions light commercial vehicles (LCVs.) This was an excellent achievement and it has led to the development of this innovative, new and bigger plant.

A Protium representative spoke about how this new plant would be the “largest single electrolyser in the UK.”

Furthermore, in a statement released by Protium, the company claimed, ‘that in its first operational year, Pioneer 1 has “provided a blueprint for future projects and shaped and informed the wider market in the UK.”’

Chief Operating Officer at Protium, Jon Constable, commented, “Our proven capability means that we can develop and progress projects at pace for customers and we look forward to building demand across multiple sector. We have also invested in digital technologies that will enable continuous improvement in how we design, optimise and operate our hydrogen plants in the future.”

Chief Executive of Protium, Chris Jackson, mentioned, “The nascent stage of the hydrogen sector makes projects like Pioneer 1 crucial for cultivating the necessary experience, skills and market demand necessary for the sector’s growth. The UK must start this journey now [rather] than waiting on future projects.”