Bramble Energy, an innovator in fuel cell technology, has announced the opening of its new headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex, which includes a hydrogen innovation and development hub.
Founded as a university spin-out, then developed in the garage of co-founder and CEO Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy has rapidly gained momentum with its fuel cell technology based on cutting-edge printed circuit board (PCB) technology. The business growth has led to the demand for a larger facility that can accommodate Bramble Energy’s projected expansion and support the scale up of its technology to transform the hydrogen fuel cell industry.
At the heart of the new facility – Atrium Court – lies the Hydrogen Innovation Hub, a research, development and testing facility dedicated to hydrogen fuel cells, electrolysers and sensors. The facility can support every element of Bramble’s technology development and scale it up. Concepts can be taken through from the R&D phase all the way up to production-ready technology, as well as test fuel cells producing single digit watts up to multi kW sizes required to service the heaviest of mobility industries.
Dr Mason commented: “Our world-leading Hydrogen Innovation Hub at Atrium Court will significantly contribute to levelling up the UK’s hydrogen and fuel cell testing capability. It will play a crucial role in our future development as we revolutionise the shift towards cleaner and sustainable energy solutions.”
Bramble Energy says its breakthrough innovation in hydrogen fuel cell technology and design utilising its PCB platform, is solving the key challenges in the production of hydrogen fuel cells and accelerating the hydrogen mobility industry with the world’s first PCB hydrogen fuel cell. The patent-protected solution means it can design, manufacture, test and ship a PCB fuel cell in a matter of weeks, at a significantly lower cost than the typical industry standard.
Financial support has been instrumental in Bramble Energy’s growth trajectory. As well as raising equity finance through VCs, UK government-funded initiatives have been well received. Bramble Energy successfully secured £5m in funding in July 2020, raised an additional £35m in February 2022, and in May 2023, was awarded £12m in funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre to provide its fuel cell technology to a hydrogen bus project.
