Launchpad Profiles | Water to Water and HydroGlyn-Wales

Net Zero Industry Wales spoke to Water to Water about their recent success in achieving funding through Round 3 of the South-West Wales Launchpad.

Water to Water was founded in Scotland in 2017 with a goal to develop green hydrogen communities locally and globally to accelerate the transition to a net-zero emissions future.

Tell us a bit about your organisation

Water to Water is a purpose-driven start-up focused on accelerating the transition to net zero in rural communities. We develop small-scale, decentralised renewable energy projects — with a particular focus on green hydrogen — that integrate existing technologies in innovative ways. Our mission is to make clean energy locally accessible, economically viable, and a driver of community resilience.

Tell us about your project that secured funding

HydroGlyn-Wales is a green hydrogen farming pilot designed to demonstrate how rural agricultural communities can move from high levels of fuel poverty to become self-reliant, net zero energy producers.

Rural decarbonisation has lagged behind other sectors, largely due to the historic focus on centralised energy systems like the gas grid. HydroGlyn-Wales addresses this gap by demonstrating decentralised, farm-based hydrogen production — offering a replicable model for engaging rural communities in the hydrogen economy and supporting the South Wales Industrial Cluster’s broader net zero goals.

The project, developed by Water to Water and hosted at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Gelli Aur Campus in South-West Wales, showcases how farms and rural communities can achieve energy independence while significantly reducing CO₂ emissions. It aims to generate over 100% of the campus’s energy needs — including electricity, heating, and transport fuel — from on-site renewables, stored either in batteries or as  green hydrogen produced on site. This energy will be distributed via microgrids and renewable fuelling stations.

With agriculture responsible for around 12% of Welsh CO₂ emissions, and  with the sector aiming for a 95% emissions reduction by 2050, this project offers a pathway to energy self-sufficiency, long-term financial resilience, and a more inclusive energy transition. It will also produce a user-friendly roadmap to support broader replication across rural Wales and beyond.

Why did you apply to the South Wales Launchpad?

We applied because we see South Wales as a critical region for demonstrating how the clean energy transition can include rural and agricultural communities. The Launchpad offers an opportunity to collaborate with local partners, build momentum around decentralised solutions, and show that community-scale Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) can deliver environmental and economic benefits across the region.

What does winning mean to you? How will it help your business?

Winning is a catalyst. It brings visibility, validation, and the resources we need to move from vision to reality. It enables us to carry out detailed feasibility work, unlock co-funding opportunities, and strengthen our ability to influence wider energy policy.

Most importantly, it proves that small, agile projects can deliver meaningful, scalable impact — faster and more affordably than many industrial-scale models.

What would most help businesses in South Wales to meet their net zero goals and the region in becoming a clean energy hub?

What’s most needed is flexible, deployment-focused funding that supports the rollout of proven technologies at the community level. South Wales has the skills, ambition, and renewable potential to become a clean energy hub — but the focus must expand beyond large infrastructure projects.

Supporting clusters of smaller, locally owned projects, especially in rural areas, would accelerate decarbonisation, create local jobs, and relieve pressure on the grid. Closer collaboration between government, developers, and communities is also essential.

What do you hope the next 12 months will bring for your organisation?

We aim to complete construction at HydroGlen in Scotland, progress our Welsh projects — including HydroGlyn-Wales — toward deployment, and grow a national coalition around small-scale hydrogen solutions.

We hope to expand our team, formalise key supply chain contracts and hydrogen offtake agreements, and support more farms on their journey to net zero — showing that rural decarbonisation is both achievable and economically beneficial.

What is the best way for organisations to reach out if they are interested in collaborating and following your progress?

We welcome collaboration and conversation. The best way to reach us is through our website, or by emailing us at info@watertowater.co.uk. You can also follow our progress on LinkedIn, where we regularly post updates and insights from our projects.

Find out more about Water to Water here.