A Scottish start-up which has ambitions to shake up the hydrogen energy sector has appointed a new chief executive.

Clyde Hydrogen Systems, a spin-out from the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry, has recruited James Peck from ZeroAvia, a global leader in hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aviation, as its new boss.

Mr Peck joins at an “exciting time” for the business, which raised more than £1 million in a pre-seed funding round earlier this year and is primed for “significant growth” over the next 12 months as it brings its new technology to commercial markets.

The company said its “breakthrough” decoupled electrolyser technology reliably delivers high-pressure green hydrogen safely at scale and at low cost, noting that this has the potential to match renewable energy with hydrogen production in a more productive way than currently possible – solving one of the industry’s biggest challenges to date.


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Mr Peck is described by Clyde Hydrogen Systems as a highly experienced commercial leader with a proven track record delivering profitable business across an array of product types and global industrial markets.

He said: “The opportunity for me to step across into the infrastructure space and support the delivery of critical hydrogen with the pioneering Clyde Hydrogen was one I absolutely could not miss.

“I passionately believe that hydrogen is one of the most practical ways of achieving global decarbonisation and significantly reducing the world's dependency on fossil fuels. The ability to produce clean, low-cost hydrogen is critical in making this a reality and I was immediately blown away by the work produced by the team at Clyde Hydrogen in developing the next generation of hydrogen production technology. I can't wait to support the team in taking the technology to a commercial product and being a part of an exciting journey.”

Dr Jos Trehern, chairman of Clyde Hydrogen, said: “To attract someone of James’ calibre and experience is not only a huge coup for the business but a validation of the exciting potential of Clyde Hydrogen and the impact we seek to have on the green hydrogen sector.

“James has a proven track record in building long-term commercial partnerships within the hydrogen sector and we believe his appointment is fundamental in achieving our next goal of bringing our ground-breaking technology to commercial markets.”