The Battery That Makes Its Own Hydrogen

A new containerised Battery-Electrolyser system is redefining what rural electrification can look like—storing energy like a conventional lead-acid battery, then flipping into hydrogen production with a simple overcharge. This dual-purpose tech is headed to a school in Zambia, where it will power classrooms and teachers’ homes while delivering clean, smoke-free hydrogen for cooking, replacing wood and biomass that drive deforestation and deadly indoor air pollution. With 160 cells turning water into hydrogen and oxygen, compressed on-site for everyday use, the system offers a compelling pathway to renewable, locally produced energy in regions with low grid access. And beyond Africa, its creators see a future coupling the Battery-Electrolyser with intermittent renewables like wind, unlocking flexible, distributed hydrogen generation anywhere the grid falls short.

Transcript

00:00:02 The battery electrolyer is a containerized system that can store electricity in batteries. But then the batteries have been designed so that they can also produce hydrogen and then we can use that hydrogen for clean cooking. So at the moment the communities in Africa they use biomass and wood. They often go and collect the wood from the

00:00:24 surrounding areas depleting the resources contributing to deforestation. And when they burn that wood, it releases harmful pollutants which causes premature deaths particularly in women and young children. So if they're using hydrogen instead, then the only waste product is water and it's a source of renewable energy. So the battery electrolyer behind me is going

00:00:46 to go to a school in Zambia and they're going to use the hydrogen cooker and the batteries to electrify school classrooms and the teachers houses and then the hydrogen will be used for clean cooking. So the way that the battery electrolyer works is quite simple. It works like a normal lead acid battery. It can store electrical energy. But

00:01:08 then when we overcharge the battery, we split the water that's in the electrolyte into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis.
>> We've got 160 cells. These pipes here are our water topup system. So as you're electrolying water, you're converting the water into hydrogen and oxygen. So the hydrogen is produced, goes through these pipes, goes through to a

00:01:29 compressor or it's compressed into a tank, and after it's in the tank, it can be used for many different things, but cooking primarily. So the reason why we've chosen the African communities is because people particularly in subsahara and Africa lack access to electricity. So we want to provide them with energy sustainability and a source of renewable

00:01:49 energy. We think the end goal and the applications of the battery electrolyer are that we can couple it with renewable energy. So I think the battery electrolyer will be perfect for coupling with wind farms in the UK and then worldwide coupling with intermittent renewable energy sources.