The Anonymous Widower

Is There A Working HiiROC Electrolyser in Japan?

I don’t know, but Google AI gave me this answer.

No, there is no working HiiROC electrolyser (Thermal Plasma Electrolysis unit) in Japan.
HiiROC and Tokyo Gas signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January 2025 to jointly assess and explore the potential deployment of HiiROC’s technology across Japan, rather than an operational installation.

It looks to me that the Japanese are taken a careful route.

November 6, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Finance & Investment, Hydrogen | , , , | Leave a comment

Is HiiROC Involved In The Manufacture Of Carbon Black?

The HiiROC process for creating green hydrogen, also creates carbon black.

So I asked this question of Google AI, to see how and if, it is affecting the market for carbon black.

This is the reply I received.

Yes, HiiROC is directly involved in manufacturing carbon black, but as a valuable, high-purity by-product of their primary focus: clean hydrogen production.

Based in Hull, England, HiiROC utilizes a proprietary process called Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE). This technology uses an electric field generated by patented plasma torches to split hydrocarbons (such as natural gas, flare gas, or biomethane).

Instead of creating carbon dioxide, like traditional hydrogen manufacturing, the process splits the molecules into two clean, solid outputs:

1. Affordable Clean Hydrogen
2. Solid, Clean Carbon Black

Impact on the Carbon Black Market

Replacing High-Emission Processes: Conventional carbon black is traditionally manufactured via high-pollution, fossil-fuel oil furnace methods. HiiROC’s TPE process yields a zero-emission, sustainable alternative.

Commercial Applications: HiiROC is actively commercializing its solid carbon black for traditional applications—such as tires, rubbers, plastics, inks, and toners—while collaborating with institutions like the University of Hull to research newer applications like soil enhancers, construction materials, and environmental filters.

Global Footprint: Demonstrating its scalable manufacturing capability, HiiROC signed an agreement with Tokyo Gas to deploy its plasma technology in Japan, exploring the commercial use of its “plasma carbon black” for decarbonizing lower-carbon industrial materials. They are also running a first-of-a-kind trial at the Cemex cement plant in Rugby, UK.

You might consider that HiiROC is producing zero-carbon or green carbon black.

 

 

 

November 6, 2026 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen, Manufacturing | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Octopus Energy Creates GBP 3 Billion Offshore Wind Fund

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Octopus Energy’s generation arm has launched a dedicated fund with Japan’s Tokyo Gas to invest GBP 3 billion (approximately EUR 3.5 billion) in offshore wind globally by 2030.

This is the first paragraph.

The fund, set up with a GBP 190 million (about EUR 217 million) cornerstone investment from Tokyo Gas, will invest in the development, construction, and operational stage offshore wind farms, as well as companies creating new offshore wind, with a focus on Europe, said Octopus Energy.

It’s almost as if Octopus Energy are planning to do for offshore wind power, what Gore Street and Gresham House Energy Storage Funds have done for battery storage.

It strikes me that a detailed purpose-built financial model, as I have built several times could give a lot of insight into the wind farms and their financing.

There is also a lot of technology coming on stream, that will help this sort of wind fund.

  • In-farm energy storage will happen and this will be the obvious place to use energy storage to smooth out the power from offshore wind farms.
  • Floating wind farms are becoming mature technology and appear to offering higher capacity factors.
  • Floating wind farms may offer lower maintenance costs.
  • Multi-Purpose Interconnectors are starting to be installed  and will allow power to be sent to more than one destination in different countries.
  • Wind farms are increasingly being linked to battery storage to smooth out the power from offshore wind farms.
  • Electrolysers are being built offshore.
  • Data analysis is playing its part in improving operational efficiency.

Now could be the time to take the plunge and build that offshore wind farm.

November 17, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Finance & Investment | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment