Centre pivots, travelling irrigators and the pumps that lift water from deep bores or rivers usually run motors far bigger than 15 kW, often for long hours through dry spells. Even several units together would struggle, and with round-trip efficiency of 30% or less, making that much energy from stored hydrogen would cost far more than running from the grid. If your irrigation is a pivot fed by a large pump, this is not your answer. We would rather say that up front than size something that disappoints.
Smaller irrigation looks very different. A drip system on an orchard block, vineyard or market garden might run a modest pump, filters, fertigation injectors and a controller with solenoid valves. Those can sit within 15 kW continuous, especially when watering is scheduled around other loads. Irrigation controllers, flow meters, soil moisture sensors and alarms are tiny loads and well worth keeping alive through an outage so schedules and logs are not lost.
How it works →
Hydrogen is made on off-peak power, wind or micro-hydro, and stored at 30 bar or less for weeks. The electrolyser uses filtered, de-ionised water, about 9 litres per kg of hydrogen, most of which the fuel cell returns. That is negligible beside irrigation volumes. If you are unsure which side of the line your system sits on, the pilot can log your pump and give you a straight answer, including that it is not a fit.
Generally no. Pivots and the pumps feeding them draw well beyond 15 kW and run for long hours. A larger or multi-unit setup would still be a poor match given 30% or less round-trip efficiency. We would tell you so in a pilot rather than oversell.
Frost sprinklers usually need large pumps running all night, which is beyond one unit. The controller and frost alarm could be kept alive, but the pump itself would need a different supply.
Often yes. A modest pump, filters and controller can fit within 15 kW continuous. The pilot would log your actual pump and watering schedule to confirm before anything is installed.
Pilot installs go to people on this list first. Rural homes, farms and remote sites especially. No spam, no payment.