Haydale has announced that it has been awarded funding of £138,549 (around USD$192,290) to develop hydrogen fuel cell tanks by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).

To support the future of green automotive manufacturing and accelerate the UK's transition to net- zero emission vehicles, the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) has guided £9.4 million in public funding to 22 feasibility studies looking to scale up the industrialization of low-carbon emission vehicle technologies.

In the second round of funding, awarded as part of the APC's Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), the 22 studies will explore the feasibility of UK-based battery production, the development of motors & drives and fuel cell technologies, as well as recycling solutions.

Storing hydrogen requires high-strength durable containers for safe operation in vehicles. This project will assess the suitability of Haydale Composites Solutions' promising lightweight, low-permeability storage tank, which could help to unlock the pathway to hydrogen propulsion. Under its feasibility study, 'ATF: moving the UK automotive sector to zero emissions', Haydale's functionalized graphene enhanced materials will be used to decrease manufacturing time and rejection rate, as well as to provide uplifts to permeability, toughness, and impact resistance.

Keith Broadbent, Haydale CEO, added: "We see hydrogen tank development as a key technology area going forward. Following commercially focused research and development in this area, we continue to advance our functionalization process to help create high-strength durable hydrogen tanks."