Hydrogen Expert Support

The Hydrogen Expert Support service from Scottish Enterprise allows industry experts to help companies of different sizes and types, from various sectors, that are looking to grow and diversify into the renewable or low-carbon hydrogen sector.

The service will help Scottish companies to:

• understand if their capabilities can be transferred to the hydrogen sector, to diversify their market
• understand the potential benefits of diversifying into hydrogen, such as the ability to maintain or increase turnover, workforce or facilities
• increase their presence and manufacturing capabilities if they are already in the hydrogen market, either through market analysis or due diligence on their product or service

The Hydrogen Expert Support offers 2 levels of support:

Level 1

Level 1 includes 2 days of consultancy. The consultant will learn about your company's operations, capabilities and ambitions and create a report tailored to you that describes your general hydrogen opportunities. This will include projects that may be of interest to your company and some initial thoughts on specific areas your company could focus on.

Level 2

Level 2 includes up to 4 days of consultancy. It builds on the activity in level 1 by going into more detail on specific areas of opportunity for your company. It also provides detailed guidance on the next steps you could take to move into the sector.

Companies are expected to complete level 1 before going to level 2. However, there may be occasions where it is appropriate for a company to go straight to level 2.

Yes, if you are a company that wants to diversify into hydrogen from an existing sector, such as oil and gas, subsea, renewables or transport. You must have a base in the Scottish Enterprise geographic area, which includes:

• Grampian (Aberdeen City and Shire)
• Tayside (Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Angus)
• the central east of Scotland (Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling)
• the central west of Scotland (Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Dunbartonshire, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire)

Your company should have an interest in creating new products or services in the hydrogen market and demonstrate an ambition to increase your manufacturing capacity or employee numbers in Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise may prioritise support for some types of products and services that have been identified as a potential strength for Scotland’s established supply chains. These include, but are not limited to:

• valves, gaskets and seals
• meters and sensors
• compressors
• metal processing
• pipes, tubing and welding
• storage vessels
• temperature control systems
• chemical processing
• electrical equipment such as rectifiers
• vehicle components or vehicle conversions
• boilers and generators
• services such as engineering, testing, certification and maintenance of relevant products or assets

Companies are not eligible if they're looking for support to:

• develop a specific hydrogen project, such as production, storage or end-use projects, site analysis, consenting and approvals processes, pre-Front End Engineering Design (FEED) or FEED studies
• provide products or services that are specific to associated renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar and hydropower - for example, the production of PV panels or wind towers
• expand certain non-technical business services to the hydrogen market - for example, legal, accountancy, marketing or research

Level 1 is free.

The cost of level 2 is up to £3,240 including VAT. Scottish Enterprise will only cover 50% of these costs. Companies are expected to match 50% of the costs of Level 2.

Established companies based in Grampian, Tayside, the central east of Scotland or the central west of Scotland.

Visit the Scottish Enterprise website for more information and to submit an application form.