“H2SITE has unique reactor and separator technology that facilitates the conversion of various feedstocks into hydrogen”
H2SITE, one of TECNALIA’s invested companies, has launched the first hydrogen production system, from ammonia, on board a ship using membrane reactor technology
This new initiative has enabled the company to further scale its integrated membrane reactor technology as a solution to the challenge of decarbonising maritime transport. It already has the following larger-scale projects under development.
José Antonio Medrano, Technical Director of H2SITE, explains that “our membrane reactor technology not only improves the efficiency of the system, but also makes the unit more compact. This is especially important in applications where space is limited, such as on board a ship”. “We have focused our design efforts on minimising ammonia consumption, which will be key to the expansion to higher power units,” he added.
In addition to TECNALIA, other international benchmark agents in the field of maritime decarbonisation have collaborated, such as Zumaia Offshore, Erhardt Offshore, Ajusa, Enagas and ABS.
H2OCEAN also generates electricity for auxiliary consumption. The operation took place on 18 November in the supply ship BERTHA B: it left the Port of Bermeo and sailed along the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The installed system converts ammonia into high-purity hydrogen during navigation, which powers the fuel cell and produces electricity for the ship’s auxiliary services.
About H2SITE
H2SITE came about in 2020 as a result of the collaboration of the applied research and technological development centre TECNALIA, through its deep-tech venture, through its deep-tech venture builder, TECNALIA Ventures, with the French company ENGIE New Ventures and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe).
The company has unique technology for reactors and separators that facilitate the conversion of different feedstocks into hydrogen, such as ammonia, methanol, syngas and the separation of hydrogen from gaseous mixtures in low concentrations for applications in salt caverns or geological hydrogen.
