Logan Energy, with manufacturing facilities in Wallyford and development facilities at Heriot-Watt University, has received more than 50% of the overall figure from green energy investment company, Lanxing New Energy, based in Singapore.

The balance of the investment was made by Scottish Enterprise which continues to support Logan on its strategic growth path. The funds will enable Logan Energy to develop its technology base and facilities, grow its workforce within the hydrogen sector in Edinburgh and expand internationally.

Bill Ireland, chief executive of Logan Energy, said: “We have been working in the hydrogen sector for decades and see the energy market focussing on how hydrogen fits within the increasingly complex energy mix.

“Over the years, we have delivered to meet the changing demand and developed bespoke solutions which have now become our standard offering.

“This investment allows Logan Energy to move forward with our mission to secure our position as an industry leader providing Integrated Hydrogen Energy Systems and Energy Transition Solutions across all market sectors.”

Mr Ireland continued: “It will also allow us to address the supply chain issues the industry is facing by developing key relationships with OEMs and equipment developers around the globe and ramp-up our ground-breaking research & development (R&D) capabilities here in the UK using our unique know-how around hydrogen systems.

“Lanxing New Energy shares our ambition around the massive potential for the integration of hydrogen energy systems and the investment from Scottish Enterprise will help develop our vital R&D function and allow us to build a skilled, well-rewarded and long-term workforce in the Hydrogen economy.”

Yuxuan Zhang

Lanxing New Energy chief executive, Dr Yuxuan Zhang, added: “We’ve been impressed with the Logan Energy team and the progress they are making in the UK and European market. We are clear that energy systems involving hydrogen have a vital part to play in the transition to a low carbon economy across the world.

“For us, it has been about finding the best partner to understand the complexities of integrated energy systems and develop advanced hydrogen technologies.

“We believe Logan Energy to be best in class. Over the coming months we aim to announce several new capabilities for the hydrogen market as we further develop Logan’s strategic plan.”

Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie said: “Logan Energy is pushing to the forefront of the hydrogen sector with its unparalleled whole-system expertise, products, and services.

“With hydrogen as one of the transformational opportunities Scottish Enterprise is targeting as part of our future focus, Logan is a perfect fit for us to partner with in this investment.”

Logan Energy has been working with a range of clients on a variety of projects in the Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Spain, Singapore, and China. In Scotland, the company is installing a hydrogen electrolyser at Arbikie Distillery near Montrose which will enable the distillery to power its operations partly from environmentally-sustainable green hydrogen – that is hydrogen created using renewable electricity from the wind turbine and local water sources.

Logan Energy chairman, Ian Marchant, said: “Hydrogen has a key part to play in the Energy transition in Scotland, the UK and globally. Logan is well positioned to help companies and organisations develop, build, and operate all forms of hydrogen projects and this funding will allow further growth, involvement in larger projects and the development of the skill base needed.”

Both the UK and Scottish governments have declared ambitious targets for hydrogen production. In Scotland, the government is making available £100m in capital funding for renewable hydrogen projects.

The first tranche of the hydrogen investment programme, the £10m Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, opened in June 2022. Announcing the plans, the then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Michael Matheson, described the hydrogen economy as “Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunity since oil and gas was discovered in the North Sea”.

The UK government aims to deliver up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with at least half of this from electrolytic hydrogen (hydrogen gas produced through the process of electrolysis). It also aims to have up to 1GW of electrolytic hydrogen and up to 1GW of CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation, and storage)-enabled hydrogen in operation or construction by 2025.

The global hydrogen generation market size was estimated at $170.14 billion (around £134bn) in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% from 2024 to 2030.