Innovative Co-Electrolysis Systems and Integration with Downstream Processes

Objectives

• Project results are expected to contribute to the following objectives of the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA:
  • Improve cell design/materials for an increased lifetime and high performance, and increase cell/stack robustness through improved thermal and process-flow management;
  • Develop new stack and balance of plant (BoP) designs;
  • Consider innovative system designs and improved balance of plant components to reduce cost.

Funding Information

• Maximum amount: EUR 4.00 million.

Expected Outcomes

• Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
  • Efficiency improvement via an optimised system integrating co-electrolyser and downstream reactor, enhancing the efficiency of the power to final chemical process by reducing heat losses and recovering heat produced in the synthesis phase;
  • Optimised resource utilisation via integration with downstream processes, enabling the efficient utilisation of resources, such as waste heat or by-products, leading to overall process optimisation and reduced resource wastage;
  • Durability Improvement via an optimised operational strategy to prevent coke formation in the cells, stacks, stack modules and co-electrolyser system;
  • Cost reduction by optimising the production process and minimising energy consumption with integrated systems helping in reducing production and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) costs, making the overall process more economically viable;
  • Environmental benefits via an integrated system contributing to reducing the environmental, economic and social impacts of synthetic chemical production, resulting in high reduction potential of greenhouse gas emissions, promoting circularity of materials and components, and, in general, improving the overall environmental impact of the process (in particular when associated with a reduction of the critical raw materials content);
  • Product diversification via integration with downstream processes, facilitating the production of a wider range of products and enabling diversification and opening up new market opportunities.

Eligible Projects

• The project should cover the following elements:
  • Adapt core technology and cell design to increase the robustness in the identified operating conditions and gas composition;
  • Screening at cell or short-stack level different catalysts and operational parameters to achieve the required H2/CO ratio for further downstream processing including pressure, temperature, reactant purity. Investigation should encompass not only performances but also prevention of coke formation in the stack, stack module, system and afterwards;
  • Assessing the optimal operating conditions of the co-electrolyser and of the downstream process at the scale of a short stack over durations above 3000h, with the aim of ensuring an optimised coupling of the two technologies, considering:
    • Heat recovery from the fuel synthesis process in the co-electrolysis unit (steam generation, gas preheating, etc.);
    • The most effective strategy for cleaning up produced syngas, if necessary;
  • Design integrated co-electrolyser and downstream reactor with ad hoc BoP to increase global efficiency and promote syngas production stability, supported by simulation tools and experimental validation. The study should analyse the effects of transient and off-design operation of the system, encompassing both startup and shutdown processes. Technological and economical impacts of recirculation of separated streams such as water (steam) and carbon dioxide have to be considered;
  • Demonstrating the coupling at a relevant scale (size of the co-electrolyser >15 kW) between the co-electrolyser and the downstream reactor and evaluate its performance and durability over 2000 h minimum;
  • Conducting a techno-economic and life cycle impacts analysis and a preliminary study of safety aspects of the integrated system.

For more information, visit European Commission.