John Boyd Associates Ltd

John Boyd Associates (JBA) Ltd undertake engineering, design, consulting and delivery activities across a number of sectors – predominantly oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, food and storage.

Their subdivision – JBA Specialist Engineering Services (JBA SES, located at Wilton) – undertake all manufacture and fabrication work for JBA.

DarbyTech Ltd (60% owned by JBA) produces educational training equipment that replicates industrial processes. This is fabricated via JBA SES.

JBA have a track record of working with Teesside University on various projects associated with decarbonisation. The scale up of lab scale technology to pilot plant is becoming and increasing lucrative part of JBA activities. DarbyTech benefit from the JBA involvement in the drive for decarbonisation by replicating associated technologies in their new product development.

This programme is led by Gary Lawson (Principal Business Manager at JBA and Director at Darbytech Ltd). His role surrounds the design and commercialisation of educational training equipment that takes an industrial process. This provides a learning environment for apprentices, engineers and PhD researchers.

Challenge

There has been rapid growth in the renewables sector, driven by the global target for Net Zero by 2050. This has exposed a gap in niche process engineering education, and facilities for organisations to conduct research and development in transitioning business models toward hydrogen manufacturing and decarbonisation technology development. John Boyd Associates (JBA) Ltd, with its foundational knowledge in hydrogen process operations, carbon capture and storage, is well-positioned to capitalise on these opportunities.

The demand for hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS) training is expected to surge due to the increasing adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy source. A report by the Hydrogen Council (November 2021) suggests that the hydrogen industry could generate up to 10 million jobs globally by 2050, leading to a significant need for hydrogen-related education and training.

However, there is currently no modular-based hydrogen reactor or adsorption separation training that offers experimental outputs covering the entire hydrogen production from methane or ammonia life cycle. The modular design will make the demonstrator a “plug and play” option which can be built up from the gas mixing base unit. Other modules will include reforming, gas oxidation, adsorption and separation, membrane, and fuel cell. The modular design will make this more affordable for the education sector to purchase, operate and maintain.

The provision of a remote operating and access control system will allow customers to leverage savings in their investment and operational costs. JBA use this opportunity to upskill the delivery of cyber secure networks, which are fundamental to the continuity of their automation and safety instrumented functions.

Solution

The solution was to enhance existing expertise surrounding the intricacies of hydrogen production, purification and utilisation through the design and development of a micro-scale modular hydrogen production demonstrator. This requires collaboration across chemical engineering, materials science, automation engineering and industrial digitalisation. An interdisciplinary team is needed who are proficient in chemical process design, and who have advanced expertise around the application of catalysts, membranes, electrolysers, fuel cells, automation and cyber security.

Therefore, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) was proposed. The project will last 2.5 years, with the associate employed by Teesside University but working full-time at the JBA premises.

Impact

The KTP gives JBA a competitive edge over other market players in terms of exploiting new business linked with the rise in industrial activity surrounding the drive to Net Zero, specifically in clean energy and carbon capture.

This enables JBA to commercialise their demonstrator within the educational market, alongside industrial research and development clients who require experimental facilities. They will also be in a position to bid for high value engineering design, procure and construct contracts for new technologies.

The project also benefits the region by contributing to the government decarbonisation targets and working on novel technologies to reduce emissions. The Tees Valley has a significant industrial base including chemical, steel and manufacturing sectors. Transitioning these industries to hydrogen-based processes can help them become more environmentally friendly and competitive in the global market, enhancing energy security.

This KTP also contributes to the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Net Zero strategy, which aspires to position the Tees Valley as the UK’s hydrogen capital.

Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) aim to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills within the UK knowledge base. This KTP project was co-funded by UKRI through Innovate UK.