A UK-based innovation in clean hydrogen production could provide households with a safer, more affordable alternative to traditional heating fuels as energy costs continue to fluctuate due to global events.
Kinetic7, the disruptive tech company founded by Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist Rick Parish, has announced the development of a clean energy platform and delivery solution aimed at tackling the global energy crisis.
The announcement comes as energy prices hit unprecedented levels across UK business and domestic markets. Over 4 million households currently using LPG and oil have seen heating costs rise by 80% in just one week, with supply and pricing directly impacted by geopolitical tensions involving Russia, Ukraine, and the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently announced a £57 million emergency support package targeting “off grid” households not covered by the energy fuel cap or legacy mains gas suppliers. He has also promised legal action against energy firms “exploiting” the crisis, while the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating heating oil suppliers over alleged profiteering.
The Abu Dhabi based company, with offices in the UK, Australia, Italy, and the US, has pioneered a multi-patented delivery mechanism and portable platforms that produce hydrogen gas on demand (HOD), eliminating the need for storage entirely. Traditional hydrogen production requires capturing and storing the gas in large facilities, which is both dangerous and expensive to build and maintain. Kinetic7’s system produces HHO gas with zero emissions as and when it is needed, making it safe, clean, and accessible even in remote locations.
Kinetic7 Chairman and founder Rick Parish commented: “The current energy crisis has highlighted once again how vulnerable the UK and European energy supplies are and the steps that need to be taken to ensure long term energy security is preserved at all costs. We have become far too reliant on legacy gas providers, oil and LPG suppliers who control the supply and price of energy. Hydrogen on demand is the future for safe, clean and affordable energy that can be rolled out at speed.
Hydrogen gas has existed since the very start of evolution, but understanding how we can create, capture and store hydrogen gas safely has eluded even the greatest of minds. When we were innovating Kinetic7, we asked ourselves what if we didn’t need to store hydrogen gas but instead could create it on demand. Today we have managed to harness the method of creating, producing and delivering hydrogen gas safely, on demand, without the need for storage. This circumnavigates the process of storing hydrogen gas and means that our Kinetic7 gas is 100% safe and can be created as and when it is needed and most importantly it’s 100% carbon free.”
The technology was originally conceived as a portable cooking stove for humanitarian use in developing nations. Kinetic7 has since designed two portable cooking stoves, the Tribe and the Nomad, which run on battery and solar power and are currently in production ahead of launch. Both are intended for humanitarian, disaster relief, military, and emergency services use, and the technology meets 13 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The technology was subsequently expanded to address the wider global energy crisis, resulting in the development of the HODbox in versions serving the commercial catering and restaurant sectors, the domestic residential market, and additional industrial applications currently in prototype development.
The residential HODbox attaches to the side of a property and connects to the home’s existing gas infrastructure on the same principle as LPG and oil tanks. It produces carbon free hydrogen gas for cooking, hot water, and heating at a fraction of the cost charged by LPG, heating oil, and legacy mains gas suppliers, requiring no costly upstream infrastructure or utility pipe networks.
After an initial purchase outlay, the only ongoing running costs are a minimal water supply and a small amount of electricity or solar power to operate the unit. Projected savings are estimated at 30%–45% off household energy bills annually, while providing a 100% carbon free alternative for the off grid residential market.
Parish added: “The crisis in the UK and European domestic energy market continues to impact households and squeeze incomes. Kinetic7 can be delivered safely to the domestic energy markets. Householders and developers will have a real alternative energy source that is 100% carbon free and that can simply bolt onto the side of a house at very minimal cost and disruption. Kinetic7 will provide ultra clean and ultra cheap gas for cooking and heating a boiler for ambient heat and hot water. We expect to make further announcements on this exciting phase over the coming months.”
The portable stove technology has been independently assessed by Professor Paul Fennell and Dr Andrius Patapas from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, via Imperial Consultants.
The technology was also demonstrated at the Palace of Westminster to peers, dignitaries, and members of the House of Lords at the invitation of Baroness Uddin.
The UK government is currently piloting several residential hydrogen schemes, though these traditional pilot programmes carry significant cost implications due to the infrastructure required to create, store, and deliver hydrogen gas. The Kinetic7 HODbox eliminates these costs by producing hydrogen at the point of demand, with no storage required.