Climate tech firm Levidian has begun working with United Utilities in Manchester to turn sewage biogas into graphene and hydrogen.
Cambridge-based Levidian’s LOOP100 Manchester device will remove the carbon from biogas produced in United Utilities’ treatment of wastewater, generating both hydrogen and graphene.
Graphene was first isolated by the University of Manchester, which is now home to research facilities focused on the material. Properties of graphene include being able to conduct electricity and being stronger than any other material.
“This is an incredibly exciting development,” said United Utilities’ chief engineer Lisa Mansell. “As well as enabling use to capture carbon from our biogas production, it will also recover two high value products – hydrogen and graphene – which is a positive step forward in reaching carbon reduction targets for both United Utilities and the wider North West.”
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has supplied £3m for the project between United Utilities and Levidian comes after a feasibility study. Hydrogen made by the Levidian device will be used in the Liverpool region with the graphene put towards shirnking United Utilities’ carbon footprint of concrete.
It will be Levidian’s first LOOP100, with the number representing how much carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) can be eliminated each year.