A North East business has scored a real world first by designing a fuel cell to power a lighthouse.

The historic South Gare lighthouse at the mouth of the River Tees leads to one of the River Tees leads to one of the busiest ports in the UK and is an exposed and hostile location for a fuel cell.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), based at Wilton on Teeside, marine engineering company Pelangi - who maintain the lighthouse and its systems - Schunk, who manufacture the fuel cell stack, and Air Products - the World’s top producer of hydrogen and a market leader in hydrogen energy applications.

This ground-breaking project is another demonstration that fuel cell technology is developing at a rapid pace and will soon be ready for wider use. It is especially suited to remote applications and locations.

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The South Gare site is regularly lashed by high winds and rough seas but the lighthouse, built in 1884, plays a pivotal role in the success of Teesport - one of the UK's three busiest ports with 6,000 ship arrivals each year and handling 50 million tonnes of cargo.

The hydrogen fuel cell has been powering the South Gare light, which can be seen from 25 miles out to sea, for several months now and is housed in a cabinet attached to the lighthouse.

Nigel Perry, CPI's Chief Executive, said: "The use of the fuel cell at South Gare is a big step forward as we have had to develop a special unit to withstand this demanding location.

"Fuel cells have the potential to be an important component of our future energy supply along with the likes of tidal/wave, wind or solar powers, nuclear and some fossil fuel, though we know these have a finite lifespan.

"Due to the fact that fossil fuels are limited and will run out at some point, and because of their possible contribution to climate change, we must work hard to find other viable energy solutions - from renewable sources as much as possible. We have proved at South Gate that fuel cells can operate in critical applications."

(JM)