Hydrogen : Biomass is a great opportunity for competitive renewable hydrogen imminent takeoff

Technology and the market are now ready for hydrogen vehicles. The offer is growing fast, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes offering vehicles. BMW and Nissan will come with new Hydrogen models.

However, a key factor is missing to ensure the massive deployment of hydrogen vehicles: the production of a competitive renewable hydrogen, and in sufficient quantities with a profitable meshed distribution network.

Today, 96% of hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, which is not an option for the fight against climate change. Most of the balance is currently produced by electrolysis of water, which will not be sufficient to ensure sufficient production of hydrogen to satisfy a mass market.

Using France as an example, if 30% of the current French car fleet was powered by hydrogen produced by electrolysis, this would require an annual electricity production of 147 TWh for hydrogen alone by intermittent renewable energies, electrolysis being very relevant to absorb the excess production of electricity during off-peak hours. This being considered, the total current electricity production from wind turbines and photo-voltaic panels represent only 20% of these 147 TWh (31 TWh).

Biomass and renewable organic waste provide a particularly relevant response to ensure a massive production of competitive renewable hydrogen, without any reservoir problems. In this context, HAFFNER ENERGY is launching HYNOCA?, a disruptive process that overcomes the technological barriers that have hitherto prevented a significant usage of biomass for hydrogen production.

Biomass, in a broad sense, makes it possible to satisfy the 3 major issues with hydrogen production:

• Societal / environmental: the biomass reservoir is huge and largely sufficient; it is a renewable and local resource;
• Technological: Very high temperature thermolysis is a simple process that uses only heat to extract hydrogen from biomass.
• Economic: the HYNOCA process makes it possible to have a cost for hydrogen equivalent or lower to zero-rated gas or diesel.

HYNOCA? stations are small installations that can be installed in urban or peri-urban areas. They are standardized and easily duplicable.

Technological and scientific proof of concept being made, the first industrial demonstrator with a capacity of 5 kg/h 7500 hours/year is being implemented in France with the support of the French government and the public Environment agency.

Note : this article is a translation from French of the article published on 9th January 2018