Green hydrogen is crucial if the energy transition is to succeed. After all, hydrogen is necessary for the greening of sectors such as heavy industry (steel, cement, chemicals) and shipping. For years, VITO, imec and UHasselt have been focusing on complementary research into hydrogen. The result: a new hydrogen infrastructure. The Flemish government invested 4.5 million euros for this through the Flemish relaunch plan "Flemish Resilience".
The three EnergyVille partners VITO, imec and UHasselt are betting on research to make green hydrogen practically applicable on an industrial scale. It should lead to a new hydrogen infrastructure. Imec and VITO focus on scaling up components for electrolysis systems and characterisation equipment. Electrolysis systems are needed for processes such as splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using electricity. In turn, UHasselt focuses on new materials. The aim is to find materials suitable for making hydrogen directly with solar energy. The laboratory infrastructure is located in the EnergyVille laboratories in Genk and the Green Hydrogen Lab in Diepenbeek.
More efficient and affordable hydrogen production
Imec invested in further development of their 'nanomesh' material. This electrode material, composed of connected 'nanowires' to form a three-dimensional regular structure, has high porosity and an unparalleled reaction surface. Due to these unique material properties, it can significantly accelerate innovations in energy applications, such as large-scale electrolysis for green hydrogen production. A pre-pilot line for scaling up imec's nanomesh material was designed and installed in EnergyVille's laboratories for this purpose. Partners VITO, imec, Hyve and materials expert Bekaert will conduct research here. They will investigate how larger areas of the material can be produced in an affordable way.
Nanomesh
During electrolysis, where water is split into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas on materials such as the 'nanomesh', it is crucial that the two gases remain separated. This can be done using a stable membrane - the thinner, the more efficient the process. Here, too, the research partners work together. VITO from their long tradition in membrane casting and imec with their developments of solid-state electrolytes for batteries.
Test reactor
Eventually, the scaled-up nanomesh material and the separation material will be placed together in a test reactor. In the process, the upgraded hydrogen production will be tested. This will be done in an industrially relevant installation designed by VITO. By doing so, the researchers are taking an important step in the commercialisation of these innovative technologies and affordable hydrogen production.
New materials
How can we combine a continuously growing demand for energy with a significant reduction of our ecological footprint? If we want to supply both the energy supply and the chemical industry with the necessary green hydrogen, an awful lot of electrolysis capacity is needed. This also involves a very large amount of critical raw materials used as electrodes or catalysts in the process. Solar energy is an inexhaustible, non-polluting and renewable resource. We can convert solar energy into electricity for electrolysis through photovoltaic panels. One may ask whether a more direct transfer of solar energy to chemical energy for breaking water molecules and forming hydrogen or molecules derived from it is also possible. The materials research institute (imo-imomec) at UHasselt and imec develops and researches innovative materials that can convert the sun's energy into the suitable form for water splitting and using hydrogen to make other sustainable chemical building blocks or fuels. This is preferably done with less critical raw materials.
Materials testing
UHasselt is investing funds from the Flemish Resilience plan in advanced equipment for the development and characterisation of new materials. And for their synthesis on a larger scale. This way, researchers can test the materials in an environment relevant for industrial validation. In addition, the researchers installed infrastructure to incorporate these new materials into electrodes and catalysts and test them, including in an electrolysis apparatus (for electrodes up to 100 cm2). This is necessary to check whether they can also work under industrially relevant conditions. In particular, the production via electrolysis of hydrogen at high pressure is a challenge. At the same time, it is also most economically advantageous as it allows direct storage of hydrogen at higher pressure without additional mechanical compression.
New hydrogen infrastructure
These investments are the starting shot for the further development of a hydrogen infrastructure in Genk and Diepenbeek. It is a crucial step in the eventual commercialisation of green hydrogen technology. Flemish Minister for Innovation Jo Brouns: "Hydrogen plays and will continue to play an important role in the sustainable transition. Especially for our heavy steel or chemical industry, hydrogen will serve as feedstock or fuel for processes that are not or difficult to electrify. However, Flanders, and by extension Belgium, has insufficient renewable energy space to produce all that sustainable hydrogen here to date. We are therefore investing in research and innovation, for instance to develop membranes that make the production of that hydrogen cheaper. In this way, we help meet the important climate challenge, and we can also export that expertise to countries with lots of sun and wind to produce that green hydrogen."
Read also: Acceleration of hydrogen corridor between the Netherlands and Germany
