2023-09-28 00:22:11
A hydrogen atom is made up of only one proton and one electron. A simplicity that gives it first place in the periodic table, although it is also true that in nature, where it is very abundant, we hardly find it in isolation. It almost always appears combined with other elements forming more complex molecules, such as water. You know, two hydrogen to one oxygen. Therefore, it is not a fuel that can be taken directly, but must be ‘manufactured’. Those who see it as a key piece to achieve the decarbonization of the economy investigate how to make this production process environmentally sustainable, sometimes postponing another problem: how to distribute and store that hydrogen later.
“Transporting it in the form of gas from the centers where it is generated to the industries is today technically very complex and, therefore, very expensive,” explains Gorka Hermoso, financial director of H2Site, a Biscayan startup that is committed to simplifying things by making it easier for Hydrogen is produced on a smaller scale, but directly at the point of consumption. Specifically, the firm brings to the market the research of working groups from Tecnalia and the University of Eindhoven (Netherlands) on the use of palladium membranes.
Two solutions
Starting from the possibilities that already exist, H2Site proposes two alternatives. The first is based on the use of the infrastructure used in the distribution of natural gas. Both gases can ‘travel’ together, so all you have to do is separate them where the hydrogen is going to be needed. “The membranes act as a filter, the natural gas continues its path through the conduit and the industry takes the hydrogen it needs from the network,” summarizes Hermoso. «It is a solution that is very close to being viable, although there is a regulatory part to establish what quantities of gas it makes sense to mix, which governments are still working on. “If this is resolved, the technical adjustments that must be made are minimal and the investment required is much less than that needed to build a hydroduct,” he clarifies.
The second option is not to transport it as is, but through other compounds that contain it in large quantities. Here the best candidate is ammonia, which is nothing more than the union of three hydrogen atoms with one nitrogen atom. In addition to being generated naturally by the decomposition of organic matter, it can also be obtained industrially “and already has a highly developed logistics chain.” That is, it is easy to buy and store. «When the company needs hydrogen it only has to use our reactor to break down the ammonia molecules. Next, the membranes separate the hydrogen on one side and the nitrogen on the other, which is a harmless gas,” explains Hermoso.
At the moment, the firm is carrying out concept tests for its potential clients – before the end of the year it will have delivered seven of these small-scale demonstrators – but it has already found four niches where both proposals can make a difference. On the one hand, in industries, both those that want to use hydrogen as a source of green energy and those that use it in their production processes. For example, margarine is made from the hydrogenation of vegetable fats.
On ships and ports
Another possible use of its technology is on the high seas, in hydrogen fuel cells with which ships are replacing diesel engines. «We are doing small-scale tests that already allow the auxiliary systems to work with hydrogen generated on the ship itself from ammonia. We are very happy, although at the moment they are tests without movement and it remains to be seen how the membrane responds to the possible vibrations that occur while crossing,” explains the company’s financial director.
The third target market would be on the coast, in the ports. “Some are considering importing ammonia on a large scale to produce hydrogen in their own facilities and then putting it into the network, which can be a hydroduct or gas pipeline where it then has to be separated from natural gas,” Hermoso describes. Finally, the fourth destination that they already have on their radar is the geological excavations of hydrogen wells or ponds, from which it is extracted mixed with other gases.
«Now there is a lot of interest because there are public funds to promote the use of hydrogen as an energy source, but there is a lot to explain so that it is massively seen as an alternative to fossil fuels. In fact, to make it easier we are looking for strategic partners, such as ammonia or fuel cell manufacturers, who in the future will allow us to offer end-to-end solutions », he underlines.
Avoid transportation
Starting from ammonia allows hydrogen to be produced on a small scale where it is needed
Since its establishment in 2020, the company has already closed two financing rounds with which it achieved a total of 14 million euros and which led to the entry of international funds such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Equinor and Engie New Ventures, in addition to Venture Capital in the Basque Country. , Seed Capital Bizkaia. Now it opens a new round of 25 million that is already partly committed by some of these investors. “This year we will invoice 3.3 million, but we already have new contracts worth 7.5, which requires a lot of working capital, but we also want to increase the sales team, achieve certifications and, of course, continue researching.”
To achieve them, he will attend B-Venture on the 17th and 18th, the startup event organized by EL CORREO, which this year celebrates its eighth edition with the sponsorship of the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, the SPRI development, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao City Council, as well as with the collaboration of BStartup of Banco Sabadell, BBVA Spark, BBK, Laboral Kutxa, CaixaBank and the University of Deusto.
Pioneer plant in palladium membranes
“In 2020 there were only three of us and today there are 33 people on the team,” proudly says Gorka Hermoso, financial director of H2Site, a startup whose fundamental milestone is the launch of the world’s first manufacturing plant in Loiu. of palladium reactors and membranes. A chemical element that, due to its physicochemical properties, is common in the catalysts of gasoline and diesel cars or in electronic capacitors. “It is true that it is very expensive” – its price has surpassed that of gold – “but electrification will lower demand and in reality we use a derivative (palladium acetate) that we can reuse, so the quantities we require “They are very small and our supply is not in danger,” he clarifies.
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