Development of novel or hybrid concepts for reliable, high capacity and energy-efficient H2 compression systems at real-world scale

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Interest for hydrogen as an energy carrier is growing and receiving support in different sectors at an unprecedented rate. Many use-cases for low carbon hydrogen solutions are currently being investigated and include mobility, industrial processes & back-up power. Power-to-gas plants and hydrogen injection into new or pre-existing gas pipeline networks are some of the production and distribution options being developed.

Today, sustainable hydrogen production technologies (e.g. electrolysers, biomass pyrolysis, etc) can only achieve low outlet pressures of 30 bar or less. As a result, a compression step is necessary before gaseous hydrogen can be stored and distributed, as trailer, requiring specific refilling centre.

Hydrogen compression is one of the obstacles to achieving an economical and energy-efficient hydrogen infrastructure. Several mechanical compressor technologies exist but their performances (in terms of CAPEX, OPEX, maintenance, electricity consumption and noise) are insufficient. Innovative, non-mechanical compression technologies have been developed in previous FCH JU projects^[1] (PHAEDRUS, Don Quichote, H2Ref, COSMHYC, COSMHYC XL, COSMHYC DEMO) over the past few years and have increased in TRL. However, in order to satisfy the ever increasing and evolving demand for hydrogen as a decarbonisation strategy, the different compression concepts need to be further developed and their ability to meet a wider range of use cases needs to be demonstrated under real operating conditions. In particular, these technologies should demonstrate an improved efficiency compared to mechanical compressors, a higher reliability resulting in lower maintenance costs, a strong flexibility to compress hydrogen from different sources with different profiles (purity, flow rates, pressure levels), and be appropriate to be installed in noise-sensitive environments.

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Contributions to at least 1 full scale demonstrator for hydrogen mobility or industrial use of hydrogen by 2025;
• Contributing to keep European leadership in the hydrogen infrastructure solutions, based on compression technologies that will be applicable for hydrogen mobility, power-to-gas and industrial use of hydrogen (as refilling centre);
• Breakthrough and game changing technologies for hydrogen compression will be fully demonstrated by 2026;
• Foster the replication of the solutions demonstrated in the project in at least 5 additional locations by 2028;
• Strengthening the European value chain on hydrogen infrastructure by supporting the development of new EU industrial companies (incl. SMEs) active in innovative compression technologies;
• Lowering the costs of production of renewable hydrogen, thus accelerating the expansion of a hydrogen-based infrastructure (for which hydrogen compression is a key element).

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following objectives of the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA:

• To develop more efficient compressor technologies;
• To reduce the total cost of ownership of compression and purification technologies;
• To increase the reliability and lifetime of compression and purification technologies.

H2 compression optimisation as a result of the project will contribute to strengthening the business model for renewable hydrogen production from sustainable technologies (such as water electrolysis via renewable energies), thus further supporting the decarbonisation of the energy sector. Hydrogen distribution methods, such as road transport and hydrogen injection into the gas grid will also greatly benefit from the project, supporting the expansion of the hydrogen refuelling station network in Europe in all sectors of hydrogen mobility (light duty, heavy-duty, trains, ships, etc), thanks to increased reliability and cost-efficiency of the compression bottleneck.

The following KPI’s should be reached at the end of the project:

• Technical lifetime: Feasibility of achieving 20 years lifetime for the compression solution in the mid-term;
• MTBF: 10,000 hours in the short term, with a perspective for 25,000 hours in the long-term (for example by extrapolation and using accelerated tests in the demonstration phase, inherent reliability of chosen components, etc);
• Final pressure target depending by application:
• Filling Centres: range (300-700) bar
• HRS: 350-700 bar
• Pipeline for pure GH₂ or blended gas: above 90bar
• Electricity consumption lower than 4 kWh/kg immediately and lower than 3.2 kWh/kg in the mid-term, starting by a hydrogen source at 10 bar, or demonstrating it;
• Maintenance costs of 0.1 €/kg immediately, with perspective to achieve 0.03 €/kg in the long term;
• CAPEX of 1,200 €/(kg H₂/day) for demonstration system and prove cost reduction up to 600 €/(kg H₂/day) when produced in large series.

Experience and lessons learnt from hydrogen demonstration projects over the past years clearly point to hydrogen compressors as one of the most critical components in terms of costs, performance and reliability. As one of the core components of most hydrogen installations, improving the state of the art of compressors is of high importance for the future success of hydrogen landscapes.

Several projects^[2] have successfully shown the potential of different novel compression technologies and first prototypes have been commissioned and operated at limited scale (4 kg/h in COSMHYC, 8 kg/h in COSMHYC DEMO). There is now a need to scale-up the technologies to >1 t/day to meet the requirements of emerging use cases, incl. gas grid injection, HRS for heavy mobility and distribution supply chain (refilling centre). In addition, while previous projects focused on use cases with limited constraints on the hydrogen source (very high purity, stable supply pressure and flow rate), there is a need to increase the robustness and flexibility of new compression technologies to adapt to a broader range of hydrogen sources with varying gas quality to decrease costs and improve reliability in an industrial context

This topic aims to further develop innovative compression concepts, helping them reach the necessary maturity for large scale deployment. It involves developing, scaling-up, building, installing and testing a compression prototype at a client site with real-life applications (e.g. a hydrogen refuelling station, hydrogen production from renewable energies coupled with a filling centre, gas grid injection) and at a representative scale:

• Filling Centres: 4-20 tonnes/day;
• HRS: 0.5-4 tonnes/day;
• Pipeline for pure GH2 or blended gas: 1-10 tonnes/hr.

It should consist of either an innovative compression solution, or a combination of different solutions including at least one innovative technology. The solution should demonstrate high levels of availability and efficiency, with low costs, low maintenance requirements, and high operational safety.

The demonstration duration should be at least one year of one compression solution at representative scale in a real commercial use case (gas grid injection, mobility, filling centre or a combination of uses) with an availability of at least 95%. In addition, the compression concept’s potential regarding scalability, industrialisation and commercialisation at mass production scale should be proven.

The technology should demonstrate to be well-adapted to a wide range of hydrogen-based applications in all parts of the value chain. In addition, the concept should show its ability to be directly connected to a renewable hydrogen source without the need for further compression steps, and to scale-up above capacity in the mid-term, above reported.

The scope of the project should include the development, manufacturing, installation, and operation of the innovative hydrogen compressor, as well as the necessary resources for measuring, monitoring, treating and interpreting data for a techno-economic analysis throughout the project. The durability of the solution should be shown using specific accelerated stress tests, highlighting a low degradation rate and high reliability.

Proposals should identify a demonstration site and end-users where the compression technology will be applied. A limited share of the funding may be allocated to the costs induced by the surrounding infrastructure to which the compression solution will belong and contribute, including studies, civil engineering, and other equipment (such as HRS, filling centre or gas grid injection facility).

This topic is expected to contribute to EU competitiveness and industrial leadership by supporting a European value chain for hydrogen and fuel cell systems and components.

It is expected that Guarantees of origin (GOs) will be used to prove the renewable character of the hydrogen that is used. In this respect consortium may seek out the purchase and subsequent cancellation of GOs from the relevant Member State issuing body and if that is not yet available the consortium may proceed with the purchase and cancellation of non-governmental certificates (e.g CertifHy^[3]).

Proposals should provide a preliminary draft on ‘hydrogen safety planning and management’ at the project level, which will be further updated during project implementation.

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project.

At least one partner in the consortium must be a member of either Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research.

The conditions related to this topic are provided in the chapter 2.2.3.2 of the Clean Hydrogen JU 2022 Annual Work Plan and in the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021–2022 which apply mutatis mutandis.

[1]https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/projects-repository_en

[2]https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/projects-repository_en

[3]https://www.certifhy.eu/