Milestone breakthrough for Scots hydrogen energy pioneer on staggering journey

Clyde Hydrogen Systems - a spin out from the University of Glasgow - said it had successfully completed the build of its first fully integrated prototype system.

The firm’s revolutionary tech uses an electrolysis process that aims to make using hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels significantly safer, simpler and cheaper in comparison to the systems available today. Crucially, its “decoupled” electrolysis system can be connected directly to renewable power and store the hydrogen in a non-gaseous form.

With the launch of its first fully integrated prototype system, the company will focus on scaling up to a commercial demonstrator, with the first market-ready product targeted for release in 2028.

The business will now focus on securing up to £5 million of seed funding with the round expected to close by the end of the second quarter of this year. This funding will enable the firm to develop the first commercial product and expand its team.

Clyde Hydrogen is backed by pre-seed funding from Zinc, the University of Glasgow and Dale Vince’s Ecotricity, alongside grants from the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS) and the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).

Chief executive James Peck said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team in completing the build of our first fully integrated prototype. It’s a massive moment for the business and will allow us to show potential investors and customers that our technology is here and offers a real shift in the way hydrogen is produced and utilised.

“We will now focus on finding the right partners for the next stage of our growth journey as we move towards demonstrating the benefits of our revolutionary technology within a real world application,” he added.

Professor Mark Symes, co-inventor of the technology, said: “The journey from my first tiny-scale experiments in glassware with cobbled-together equipment to the expertly engineered system that the Clyde Hydrogen team has created has been quite simply staggering.

“While there have been many highs and lows typical of any pioneering start-ups wishing to challenge the status quo, today’s news marks a pivotal moment for the business as we make hydrogen from our integrated prototype for the first time.”

He added: “We will now push on from here to make an integrated end-to-end system for field trials and sales, and I’m confident that Clyde Hydrogen’s unique technology will prove to be a revolution for the production of green hydrogen.”

During 2025, the firm also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hebrides-based green hydrogen producer and distributor PlusZero, to demonstrate its groundbreaking decoupled electrolyser technology for the first time outside of the laboratory.

Clyde Hydrogen is a spin-out from the University of Glasgow’s school of chemistry, which is regarded as a global leader in electrochemistry research.

Hydrogen is seen as a viable alternative method of propulsion for a variety of applications, including heavy goods vehicles and plant machinery.