Hexla, Levidian to produce hydrogen from biomethane at Glastonbury Festival site

Clean hydrogen developer Hexla and British climate tech firm Levidian will produce carbon-negative hydrogen from biomethane at Worthy Farm in Somerset, the site of the Glastonbury Festival, the companies announced on June 10.

Worthy Farm currently generates power using an anaerobic digestion plant that converts cow slurry and waste silage into energy. Levidian’s LOOP technology will enable the farm to capture carbon from a portion of the biomethane produced in this process and transform it into graphene and clean hydrogen. The hydrogen will then be used to generate electricity through the existing combined heat and power plant.

The installation is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 25 tonnes annually. The graphene produced will be sold as an additive to enhance the performance of a variety of products, including batteries, concrete, and plastics.

“The Levidian LOOP, with its unique solid carbon by-product of high-quality graphene, is the standout technology – from both a thermal efficiency and marginal cost basis – in an extremely competitive field,” said Hexla founder Andy Yeow.

Hexla is providing funding to support the development of an industrial-scale LOOP1000. The companies have also agreed on a collaboration under which Hexla will become a global deployment partner of the LOOP technology, with plans to deliver up to 300 LOOP1000 units.

Levidian CEO John Hartley commented: “The Worthy Farm project is a great example of innovation within the agricultural sector and an important showcase of the vast flexibility and potential of our technology in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries, while unlocking new revenue streams.”