Renewable hydrogen production to transition to clean cooking

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The project aims to develop technical and business models and processes that will enable hydrogen produced from renewable energy to be utilised for cooking. Still around 3 billion people cook with biomass. There are a number of way cooking can be modernised, for example with electric cooking. This is already being investigated. In addition, gas can be used. This could be fossil gas, which is finite or from renewable sources such as gasification or anaerobic digestion of biomass. Indeed, the latter is already widely used in China and India for cooking. Another approach could be to generate hydrogen as a cooking fuel from renewable sources. Much of the need to transition is in low latitude countries with high solar insolation. This has advantages to make use of peak solar radiation for the electrolysis of water and then store the hydrogen for use in cooking in the evening. This process is understood; however, the system needs not just the right technology, it also needs the development of the right business model, human capacity and social acceptance to bring about the transformation of traditional cooking practices. Therefore, there is a considerable gap that this research could start to fill. This project will be led by Loughborough University, Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST). The student will be closely working with Africa Power Ltd (through regular interactions with Dr Alastair Livesey, Africa Power Ltd) and there are possibilities to arrange the project team to visit to see the local facilities and fields in developing countries.