Fuel cell technology specialist Bramble Energy has announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Crawley, UK. The new facility includes a hydrogen innovation and development hub and represents a multi-million-pound investment.
Founded as a university spin-out, then developed in the garage of co-founder and CEO Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy has garnered attention due to its innovative fuel cell technology based on printed circuit board (PCB) technology. This 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.
The Atrium Court facility is almost 34,000ft2 – more than three times the size of the company’s previous premises. The facility is prepared to accommodate Bramble Energy’s growing workforce, which has increased tenfold from eight staff in 2020 to over 80 today.
At the heart of Atrium Court lies the Hydrogen Innovation Hub, a state-of-the-art research, development and testing facility dedicated to hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers and sensors. The facility can support every element of technology development and, critically, scale it up. Concepts can be taken from the R&D phase all the way to production-ready – as well as test fuel cells for applications ranging from single-digit watts up to multi-kW sizes.
“We are extremely proud to move into our new, state-of-the-art headquarters, which represents a major milestone for Bramble Energy,” said Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy co-founder and CEO. “Our success and growth have been phenomenal in a very short amount of time, which is in no small part to our technology but also the support we have received and having a talented and dedicated team.
“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 revolutionize the shift towards cleaner and sustainable energy solutions.”
Bramble Energy’s marinized PCBFC was shortlisted for the 2022 Electric & Hybrid Marine Award for Hydrogen Technology Breakthrough of the Year.
The company’s hydrogen fuel cell technology and designs utilize Bramble’s PCB-X platform. The patent-protected solution enables Bramble to design, manufacture, test and ship a PCB fuel cell in a matter of weeks, at a significantly lower cost than the typical industry standard.
As well as raising equity finance through VCs, UK government-funded initiatives have been key to Bramble’s growth. The company successfully secured £5m (US$6.35m) in funding in July 2020, raised an additional £35m (US$44.5m) in February 2022, and in May 2023, was awarded £12m (US$15.25m) in funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre to provide its fuel cell technology to a hydrogen bus project.