Descrizione del progetto
Produrre idrogeno senza anidride carbonica
Il progetto ColdSpark, finanziato dall’UE, prevede di sviluppare una tecnologia innovativa per eliminare le emissioni di CO2 derivanti dalla produzione convenzionale di idrogeno. La soluzione innovativa consiste nel produrre idrogeno sostenibile dal metano o dal biometano, sulla base del fatto che l’uso del plasma freddo produrrebbe un tasso di conversione energetica pari all’85 % azzerando le emissioni di CO2. La soluzione proposta elimina la necessità di catalizzatori e acqua, rendendo la produzione di idrogeno competitiva dal punto di vista dei costi, ecologica e facile da implementare. Il reattore al plasma sarà modulare e flessibile, mentre la riduzione di CAPEX e OPEX ne consentirà l’impiego su larga scala.
Obiettivo
The ColdSpark project will validate a novel non-thermal plasma technology to produce hydrogen at an industrial scale from methane, with a process energy efficiency of 79%, achieving a conversion rate of 85% with zero CO2 emissions. This will be achieved by designing an industrial relevant reactor that leverages the best features of the non-thermal plasma technologies, gliding arc and corona discharge, to ensure high efficiency and scalability. The innovation addresses for the first time the critical step of matching the reactor with a pulsed power supply. It enables a perfect fine-tuning of the cracking process parameters, to find the right electron density and energy distribution in the plasma reactor, to maximise energy efficiency. The up- and downstream gas management will be optimised to further contribute to the system’s compatibility to existing infrastructure. The project will develop and test a novel plasma reactor at lab scale and validate it in conjunction with the power supply at large-scale, pursuing the industry’s most power efficient generation of hydrogen alongside high-value carbon. The technology will assess its application for both, natural gas and biomethane producers. A low energy cost (< 15 kWh/kg H2 produced) without the need for catalysts and water, makes the proposed solution the most cost-competitive, environment-friendly, and less complex to implement. The reactor design and modularity bring lower CAPEX and OPEX and make it easily scalable and flexible. The project gathers the expertise of a mix of academic, research, and industrial partners from five countries, which bring both outstanding research and topic competence, as well as knowledge and access to the solution for end-user industries.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinatore
4313 Sandnes
Norvegia