27.04.2022
Science publication; Electrochemical production of hydrogen from natural gas
Proton-conducting membranes enables use of electricity as process energy to produce hydrogen from natural gas with low energy loss and simplified CO2 capture.
Hydrogen from natural gas
The journal Science has published “Single-step hydrogen production from NH3 , CH4 , and biogas in stacked proton ceramic reactors” authored by researchers from CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, University of Oslo, SINTEF and the research institute ITQ in Spain. CLIMIT-Demo has supported this research.
Traditional production of hydrogen from natural gas with CO2 capture takes place in several production stages with reforming, separation and compaction. Proton-conducting membranes gather these stages in one step with lower energy loss. This technology is also more suited for CO2 capture in connection with small-scale hydrogen production.
Like other electrochemical energy technologies such as batteries and fuel cells, the proton conducting reactors are made up of many small cells or membrane tubes. The new article shows how high energy efficiency from testing of single cells is maintained when cells are assembled in scalable units.
Two projects; Protonic
The development work in connection with the article is supported by CLIMIT-Demo through the project 618191 «Protonic». CLIMIT-Demo has also supported the next phase of the development work for project 620208 «Protonic Phase II».