A recent gathering of the Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club was captivated as its newly installed president, Johnathan Callwood, revealed a fascinating personal project: a novel method for producing green hydrogen from water.
Mr Callwood, who admitted his mind “loves solving problems,” shared with a large audience of members and guests how his engineering interest had extended into the critical sphere of sustainable energy. He has been deeply involved in the research and development of a device designed to generate hydrogen in an environmentally friendly manner.
The Rotary President traced his interest in the powerful energy carrier back to his time living in Spain, an interest that gained momentum upon his return to the UK at the start of the initial COVID-19 lockdown.
“Out of this challenging situation came a positive change – the time to sort out and resurrect my hydrogen project,” Mr. Callwood explained. “It is obvious that hydrogen will offer a way forward – but it isn’t that simple to produce in an environmentally friendly way. But I do like a challenge.”
His drive led him to experiment with ways to significantly improve the efficiency of the hydrogen production unit. He pinpointed a pivotal moment in his research: “The realisation that magnets could be used to improve efficiency was a major turning point.”
Academic Backing and Future Plans
To validate his scientific discovery, Mr. Callwood secured academic backing, working with Chester University as an honorary research fellow.
“Working with Chester University gave me the academic backing to prove the science behind the discovery. With the recent granting of the patent we are now well placed to bring this technology to investors,” he announced.
Looking ahead, the Rotary President is preparing to transition the project from the lab to the market. “Using the knowledge and experience I have gained over the last eight years, I am now ready for the next step in the evolution of this project – the design and manufacture of a pre-production prototype,” he stated.
This vital stage will “prove viability and enable volume production of small footprint autonomous hydrogen generators,” suggesting a future where green hydrogen could be generated locally and efficiently.
Rotarians Express ‘Amazement’
The talk concluded with an engaging question-and-answer session, leaving many fellow Rotarians “totally intrigued” and expressing “amazement” at their president’s venture.
“We were all quite overwhelmed,” commented club secretary Gareth Watkins. “We are used to having a wide variety of speakers on many different subjects. But I think this is the first time anyone has spoken on this science, which was a real eye-opener and in particular it greatly appealed to the more technically minded members of our audience.”
Mr Callwood’s ambitious project highlights how ingenuity fostered during a period of global challenge could contribute significantly to the future of clean energy in the UK and beyond.
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