The H2CAT network develops advanced and investable technologies in the field of green hydrogen
The Catalan H2CAT network brings together the main Catalan research groups in the renewable hydrogen sector to develop and create programmes for valorisation and transfer of research results to the sector’s social, productive and commercial environment.
The research groups participating in the H2CAT network have experience and knowledge in different lines of research and technologies related to the entire hydrogen value chain.
In order to address the future challenges presented by green hydrogen, the H2CAT network is structured into four major thematic areas in which the different research groups specialise.
Hydrogen production
Hydrogen can be produced by renewable energy sources (biomass, solar, wind, etc.). There is a wide variety of technological processes that can be used (chemical, biological, electrolytic, photolytic, thermochemical, etc.). Each technology has a degree of development and offers different opportunities and benefits.
The main objective is to research and develop technologies for low-cost and highly efficient hydrogen production from various renewable sources:
- Electrolysis or photoelectrolysis of water using renewable energy
- Gasification/Pyrolysis of biomass or organic waste (agricultural, urban or industrial)
- Electrochemical and thermochemical decomposition of hydrogen-bearing compounds such as: ammonia, methanol, formic acid and others; and the reforming of methanol, methane, ammonia, bioethanol, biomethane and others.
Hydrogen storage and distribution
To determine the best option for hydrogen transport and storage, several factors must be considered: the flow rate produced; the distance from the production plant to the consumption points; the complementarity of end uses; the suitability for final conditioning; and the use in different types of consumption.
The alternatives that currently exist for hydrogen transport and storage are physical storage, compressed hydrogen, liquefied hydrogen or using adsorbent materials, and chemical storage using hydrogen carrier compounds or chemical hydrides, such as ammonia or LOHCs (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers), and metal hydrides. In addition, safety is a fundamental and important part of this section.
Use of hydrogen as an energy source
Hydrogen’s status as an energy vector and its high versatility make it a key tool for the integration of the different energy sectors (electricity and gas). In the electricity sector, green hydrogen facilitates easier management of the electricity grid by absorbing the spillage of unconsumed renewable electricity when it is produced. Hydrogen offers great scope for the power system operator to provide both resilience and flexibility on a large scale. For this reason, renewable hydrogen in the transport sector is embodied in the use of hydrogen fuel cells. These are devices that reverse the process performed by electrolysers, i.e., they use hydrogen produced from renewable sources to generate electricity, which provides the electrical energy to drive fuel cell electric vehicles.
In the gas sector, green hydrogen offers the possibility of being gradually incorporated into the gas network, enabling use to be made of infrastructures and increasing the integration of the energy sectors. The main objective is to research and develop advanced fuel cell technologies for low-cost electrical energy production, as well as advanced technologies that facilitate direct injection of hydrogen to generate heat energy in industrial processes.
Use of hydrogen as a raw material
Hydrogen can be used as a raw material to produce synthetic fuels, so it stores hydrogen in a versatile way and takes advantage of the fuels to integrate into end-use applications without modifying existing systems, given the chemical nature of its properties.
Under ambient conditions, liquid synthetic fuels have advantages over gaseous fuels in terms of energy density, which makes them usable for mobility applications, as they can transport a greater amount of fuel per volume, increasing the autonomy of means of transport in general.
Other electrofuels can be obtained from hydrogen, both in the liquid state (Power-to-liquids technologies: e-methanol and Fischer-Tropsch products: e-diesel, e-gasoline, e-kerosene, e-ethylene or e-propylene) and in the gaseous state (Power-to-gas technologies: e-methane or e-ammonia).
These fuels have physicochemical properties identical to fossil-based petroleum products and offer a way of producing synthetic fuels and storing hydrogen (and, in the first instance, renewable electricity) that can be easily integrated into the existing logistics infrastructure (pipelines, tankers, etc.). The main objective is to research and develop advanced technologies that improve the overall energy efficiency and consequently, the cost of the production process.
