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Low-carbon H2 pilot commences at Cranfield University
A new 1.5-MW pilot plant is being built at Cranfield University to test hydrogen production technology that substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
The HyPER project (Bulk Hydrogen Production by Sorbent Enhanced Steam Reforming) is an international collaboration led by Cranfield University with £7.4 MM funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) £505 MM Energy Innovation Program.
It is set to examine the potential for low-carbon hydrogen to be the clean fuel of the future. The project also involves US-based research and development organization GTI and Doosan Babcock, a specialist in delivery of low-carbon technologies. The project centers on a novel hydrogen production technology invented by GTI.
"The first pieces of equipment are already on order and construction is beginning, so we’re looking forward to the plant being operational in autumn this year," said Dr. Peter Clough, Lecturer in Energy Engineering at Cranfield University. "It will be a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the scale-up of the technology and process, and offer a unique teaching and research facility for students.”
New process could offer lower cost and more efficiency
GTI’s hydrogen production technology inherently captures the CO2 during the hydrogen production process and shifts the chemical reactions to favor the production of more hydrogen. The outputs are high purity streams of hydrogen and CO2 which can be then stored, sold or transported to where they are needed.
The process for the direct production of hydrogen from natural gas that will be used in the project is compact yet scalable to very large plants. It has the potential to produce high purity hydrogen, typically 25% lower in cost than conventional steam methane reforming methods that require CO2 capture as an additional expensive process step. Conventional technology is also limited in the portion of CO2 emissions that can actually be avoided with reasonable economics. The key benefits of this technology are its significant reduction in capital cost, compact size, and higher efficiency without generating excess steam.
With the HyPER project beginning its construction phase, the University and project team is looking forward to the process insights from the research data generated. Bulk quantities of low-carbon hydrogen will be vitally important for the UK, and globally, to meet 2050 decarbonization targets.
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