Bath academic chairs International Hydrogen Research Showcase

Dr Tim Mays, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Materials Engineering, recently chaired an event that brought together hydrogen experts from across the world.

The 2011 International Hydrogen Research Showcase, which took place at the University of Birmingham in April, attracted leading university and industry researchers from the UK, US, Canada, Russia, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and France.

The event featured talks, poster presentations and keynote speeches from two of the world's leading hydrogen researchers, Professor Andreas Züttel, of EMPA Materials Science and Technology in Dübendorf, Switzerland and Professor Peter Edwards, FRS, Head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at University of Oxford.

An evening session informed the public about research into hydrogen, which is a non-polluting alternative to fossil fuels.

The showcase’s success is expected to drive forward international research in sustainable hydrogen energy. The event will also support development of a UK Hydrogen Energy Programme, which is the focus of Dr Mays' EPSRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship at Bath.

Professor Matthew Mench, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, US, Vice President of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, said: " The showcase was an excellent opportunity to openly discuss real needs and challenges. I hope it becomes a regular fixture in my travel schedule."

Ian Williamson, Hydrogen and Bio Energy Systems Director at the world's largest hydrogen producer, Air Products, and president of the European Hydrogen Association said: "The showcase was a well-attended event that allowed academics and industry to share ideas for the future of hydrogen in the UK. I look forward to the event becoming a feature of the UK hydrogen calendar."

Dr Mays said: "The success of the showcase was down to first-class speakers and posters across the broad range of hydrogen energy research, great facilities at Birmingham and excellent organisation led by Lacey-Jane Davis at Bath with Gabi Tait at UKERC."

The event was held in collaboration with a number of major publicly funded hydrogen research projects, including the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium, UK-SHEC (led by Dr Mays and Professor Edwards), SUPERGEN XIV – H-Delivery, the University of Birmingham Doctoral Training Centre in Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Applications, and the HySAFER Centre at the University of Ulster.

The showcase was financially backed by the University of Bath's EPSRC funded Pathways to Impact Award and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). It was also supported by the Energy Generation and Supply Knowledge Transfer Network.

For full details of the showcase programme, including keynote presentations, visit the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium website.