Mansim spearheads breakthrough in low-cost hydrogen recovery with Powerhouse Energy

Hydrogen Recovery from Waste

Dr Amir Keshmiri, Associate Professor in Computational Fluid Dynamics at The University of Manchester and Founder / Technical Director of Mansim, is leading a government-funded research collaboration with Powerhouse Energy Plc (PHE) to develop a novel, low-cost hydrogen-recovery technology that could accelerate the UK’s transition to clean energy.

The joint project combines Powerhouse Energy’s world-leading expertise in advanced thermal treatment of unrecyclable waste with the Manchester team’s international track record in fluid dynamics and thermochemical analysis. Together, they are developing and validating a hydrogen separation technique designed to extract hydrogen efficiently from syngas, a hydrogen-rich fuel gas produced during waste processing.

This innovation, supported by the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), aims to reduce the cost of hydrogen recovery by up to 17.5 percent compared to current methods—potentially saving more than £400 million across 59 facilities—while significantly improving sustainability and supporting the UK’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy target of 5 GW installed capacity by 2030.

“The collaboration allows The University of Manchester to be at the forefront of high-impact, game-changing technology development within the emerging clean hydrogen energy sector,” said Dr Amir Keshmiri, Associate Professor at The University of Manchester and Founder / Technical Director of Mansim. “It enables our academic team to capitalise on the bespoke hydrogen models we’ve developed and apply them to real-world energy challenges.”

Paul Emmitt, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director at Powerhouse Energy Plc, added:

“The invention has the potential to overcome a significant cost-prohibitive factor for commercial hydrogen extraction from syngas. It could allow more facilities to be developed for the same capital, enhancing production towards and even beyond the 5 GW national target.”

By transforming unrecyclable waste into a valuable hydrogen source, this breakthrough supports net-zero, strengthens UK energy security, and contributes to cleaner, localised energy generation within existing waste-management frameworks.

The project also aligns with The University of Manchester’s research beacons in sustainable energy and will feature prominently within the UK’s ongoing focus on ‘green hydrogen’, one of the flagship topics highlighted at COP27.

CFD Analysis for Hydrogen Recovery Technology