The judges’ comments about the HARI Project were that “As the world depletes its oil stock, something has to replace oil for transport, and hydrogen is a strong contender. This practical demonstration of diverse renewable energy capture integrated into a hydrogen system is truly inspiring.”

The HARI Project shared this category’s award with the Springhill Cohousing Community in Stroud. The awards are given for projects covering a range of 8 categories, including Local Authorities, Commercial Projects, Private Owners, Solar Architecture, Media, Transport and Extraordinary Personal Commitment. According to Eurosolar UK “Through these real projects, [the winners] have given outstanding service to the promotion of renewable energy”. Along with the other 9 winners, the HARI Project will be put forward for consideration for the European Eurosolar Awards.

The UK Eurosolar Awards are presented annually to “inspiring renewable energy projects” by Energy21, the UK branch of Eurosolar, which also links a national network of renewable energy groups.

Eurosolar is the European Solar Energy Association. Its goal is “the replacement of nuclear and fossil fuels with environmentally sound energies such as sunlight, wind energy, biomass, hydropower and ocean energies - collectively know as "solar" energies”. Eurosolar believes that “the development of renewable energy is the issue of key importance in the 21st century, as the basis of new lasting economic policies”.

Eurosolar describes the winning projects as “real projects that have been delivered and demonstrated rather than plans and ideas. The winners selected have demonstrated vision, persistence, and the ability to introduce and succeed with their project”.

The HARI Project is a research initiative investigating the provision of continuous power from a variety of renewable sources in a stand-alone energy system at West Beacon Farm in Leicestershire. It incorporates two 25kW wind turbines, 9kW of photovoltaics, 4kW of hydropower, a heat pump and 200kWh of battery storage supplemented by a hydrogen energy storage system consisting of a 42kW electrolyser (to produce hydrogen from collected rainwater), a hydrogen storage facility and two fuel cells of 2kW and 5kW that produce electricity, heat and water.

Rupert Gammon, director of Bryte Energy, the company that manages the HARI system, said: “This prestigious award is a testament to the hard work that our team, CREST [at Loughborough University] and Prof Marmont have put into this unique project. Field-trials like this provide crucial input to the vitally important debate on this country’s future energy supply that is currently underway. It is very gratifying to receive this award and it offers a platform for spreading the message about sustainable energy wider.”

Contact: Tony Marmont, tonym@beaconenergy.co.uk or Rupert Gammon, rgammon@bryte-energy.com