VIDEO CASE STUDY: How NZIP Funding Fast-Tracked CATAGEN’s Net-Zero Breakthroughs

New video case study with the Carbon Trust showcases how CATAGEN has used the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) support to accelerate the development of transformative Net Zero Technologies.

Watch the video to hear about our NZIP funding support from CATAGEN’s CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Andrew Woods, and from Net Zero Engineer Émer Duffy who is working on developing our E-FUEL GEN technology.

Background on CATAGEN’s Funding to Date…

In 2022, CATAGEN received 4 funding awards from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), now known as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. These awards were funded through NZIP, as part of the Red Diesel Replacement Competition and the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition. This funding was a game-changer for CATAGEN, enabling us to double our workforce to 35 people, and begin the development of the prototypes to generate low carbon hydrogen and e-fuels, and technology for hydrogen compression and dispensing. Read more here.

Then, in 2023, CATAGEN was again successful in securing further grant support through the UK government’s NZIP funding to develop demonstrators of these technologies.

Following successful development of the prototypes and feasibility studies in real-world industrial settings, CATAGEN was awarded a record £4.9 million funding by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme to develop its novel ClimaHtech BIOHGEN Biohydrogen Reactor in Belfast. Read more here.

CATAGEN, Terex and WRIGHTBUS were also awarded £6.27 million funding by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through Phase 2 of the Red Diesel Replacement programme. This project aims to deliver a decarbonised end-to-end demonstration of a Terex crusher and screener, powered by green hydrogen and e-diesel at a working quarry site in Northern Ireland in 2025. Specifically, the Terex equipment will be fuelled by CATAGEN’s ClimaHtech E-FUEL GEN and COMPRESSOR technologies. Read more here.

In the last three years, CATAGEN has secured seven funding awards, a remarkable achievement that has propelled our technology development forward at an unprecedented pace.

NZIP Fast-tracking CATAGEN’s Innovations

Since receiving the NZIP funding, CATAGEN has doubled in size, expanded our headquarters, and we are now a team of 70 people and counting, united in our purpose to clean and decarbonise the air.

The team is developing a Net Zero Campus to demonstrate the BIOHGEN, E-FUEL GEN, and COMPRESSOR technologies in May 2025.

What are the Technologies Being Demonstrated in 2025?

BIOHGEN utilizes proprietary technology to produce cost-effective biohydrogen from sustainable bio-organic sources. When compared to electrolysis BIOHGEN produces twice as much biohydrogen per unit of renewable electricity consumed and uses less water. Applications include heavy industries, like cement or steel, agriculture, and the food and drink industry.

E-FUEL GEN technology produces energy dense liquid e-fuels, another essential future fuel in a net zero economy. ‘Drop in’ or blended synthetic fuels can be produced such as e-diesel, e-gasoline, e-kerosene and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). E-FUEL GEN enables the decarbonisation of hard to decarbonise sectors such as aviation, marine, heavy industry, agriculture, and mobility.

COMPRESSOR is a high-pressure hybrid pumping system, providing highly efficient hydrogen compressing and dispensing, addressing current industry inefficiencies. It has a 30% better hydrogen utilisation than compared to industry, effective in industries such as transport, mobility, non-road machinery, storage, and integrated hydrogen systems.    

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