A Growing Legacy of STEM Impact

The ECSF workshop builds on a programme first delivered in late 2023, when Hychor’s founder, Dr Jani Shibuya, led a £10,000 Royal Society of Chemistry grant to run a week‑long hands‑on laboratory event at the University of Aberdeen during his PhD. That inaugural workshop welcomed nine schools and more than 300 pupils across Aberdeen City and Shire.

The success of that event became a turning point – demonstrating the scale of impact possible through community-focused STEM engagement and helping inspire the creation of Hychor itself. Since then, the original workshop’s kit has continued to be used throughout the years in collaboration with partners including the University of Aberdeen, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), and Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK).

Dr Jani Shibuya, Founder, Hychor Ltd commented:

“When we ran the first workshop in 2023, I realised just how much impact a small but personal effort can have. Seeing pupils light up with curiosity reminded me of the opportunities that inspired me when I was younger and what’s led me down an exciting career. Our goal now is simple: to show the excitement and importance of energy, chemistry, and engineering – and to help young people discover paths that genuinely motivate them. Whether they become founders, academics, industry leaders, or simply find a career they enjoy, that spark matters.”

Partnership with i4 Product Design

Hychor is also pleased to announce its partnership with i4 Product Design (i4PD), who helped design the new ECSF kit. Using funds from Hychor’s Converge Net Zero Runner-Up award combined with in-kind contributions from i4PD, the team developed a robust, multi-disciplinary educational kit integrating electrical, mechanical and chemical components.

Expanding Opportunities for 2026 and Beyond

Hychor is preparing the next phase of its STEM programme, exploring options such as a larger-scale regional event, expanded kit sales, or a series of mini‑workshops. In the meantime, the company continues to deliver sessions in partnership with DYW while assessing new opportunities to broaden the reach and capability of the ECSF kit.

Demonstrated Impact Across the North East

Recent workshops have shown the value of bringing hands-on STEM experiences to schools that often lack access to specialised equipment. Following Hychor’s participation in the Chemistry at Work Day, an annual event held at Robert Gordon University in conjunction with DYW, Fraserburgh Academy invited the team to deliver a dedicated workshop after students expressed strong enthusiasm for the activities. This reflects Hychor’s commitment to reaching all communities across Aberdeen City and Shire.

Highlights from Recent Events

• EAGE Conference – Showcasing energy transition concepts to industry and students.
• Fraserburgh Academy Workshop – Delivered by request after strong student engagement.
• Cults Academy Energy Trilemma – Exploring the balance between security, affordability, and sustainability.

A Pledge to the North East

Hychor has formally pledged its support to DYW and committed to strengthening career pathways across the region, including participating in the Foundational Apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council. As an Aberdeen-based company, Hychor aims to help grow and retain local talent, contributing to a thriving future for the North East while maintaining the potential to expand across Scotland.

We’re excited to announce that Hychor has officially spun-out of the University of Aberdeen and is taking the next step in its journey with the opening of our new facilities at the Energy Development Centre in Aberdeen Energy Park. 

This move marks a major transition from academic-based research to product development, right in the heart of the North East’s energy innovation ecosystem.

To kickstart this next phase, we’re expanding the team, strengthening our capability as we accelerate R&D and prepare to launch a series of exciting upcoming projects focused on next-generation green hydrogen technologies.

Come meet us at All-Energy at Hall 3, Stand T40 to learn more about our vision on the future of hydrogen.

Our CEO, Dr Jani Shibuya, represented Hychor Ltd on an innovation-focused panel, discussing the key barriers currently holding back hydrogen development from start-ups to large-scale manufacturers, and what needs to change for Scotland to remain competitive on the global stage.

The session explored not only technical and investment challenges, but also the importance of early community engagement and planning for wider resource constraints, including water availability, ensuring hydrogen projects are truly sustainable from the ground up.

The event was a fantastic opportunity to connect with peers, celebrate the sector’s successes, and have honest conversations about what’s needed to unlock innovation at scale.

At Hychor, we’re proud to contribute to these discussions and to help shape practical, forward-thinking solutions for the future of green hydrogen.

Our CEO and Founder, Dr Jani Shibuya, represented Hychor Ltd by delivering our interactive hydrogen workshop, giving students a real-world glimpse into how chemistry is driving the future of clean energy and climate solutions.

The event brought together a wide range of industries and organisations, each showcasing the exciting career pathways that chemistry can open up. It was inspiring to see so much curiosity, engagement, and enthusiasm from the next generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

We’re passionate about not only developing sustainable hydrogen technology, but also supporting young people to explore STEM careers that will shape a cleaner future. A big thank you to DYW for organising a fantastic and impactful event!

Our technology has the goal of supporting both people and planet, producing cheap sustainable hydrogen directly from seawater. We aim to unlock green energy and green hydrogen across the globe for a just energy transition.

Joining was Hychor’s summer intern, Andrew Paton, and the University of Aberdeen’s electrochemistry group, AbElektro, lead by Prof. Angel Cuesta, who’ve supported Hychor’s recent development.

Recent graduates, Kalina Fornal and Andrew Paton, will intern at the University of Aberdeen, supporting Hychor’s upscaling, optimisation, and up-scaling research.

The fellowship will support him for a year as he commits full-time to building up Hychor, developing his entrepreneurial skillset and technology development.

We enjoyed making new connections with potential partners and collaborators for deploying our hydrogen solution.

From Bilbao, Jani made his way to Lindau, Germany to attend the prestigious Nobel Laureate Meeting as one of 600 young scientists invited across the globe. During the week-long event, he attended talks and discussed with Nobel Laureates, networked with his peers, and finalised with a boat trip to beautiful Mainau Island in Lake Constance.

Using “off-the-shelf materials”, Hychor was successful in testing their proof-of-concept HySET system, operating for over eight hours without chlorine production or noticeable corrosion. A great first step in validating our propietary technology that uses commercial materials.