Decarbonisation Technology – August 2021

tonnes per day of hydrogen. We have had interest from several investors to support our growth trajectory and we are always open to enter into partnership and financing discussions.” Dry reforming, where most of the steam that is fed to the reformer is replaced with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), is also on the radar. “We had some encouraging results with CO 2 injection,” confirms Boshoff. “Microwave catalytic chemistry allows unique solutions to the conventional challenges associated with dry reforming.” Boshoff adds that there is further

Biogas plant with biomethane upgrade

at an all-time high. Admittedly, some applications, such as passenger cars, may be a mix of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles, but many industrial applications will inevitably pull for more hydrogen to displace fossil fuels. Aviation and heavy transportation, for example shipping, long-distance trucks and trains, are still in a dynamic zone with many possible solutions under consideration. The conviction to use hydrogen will stimulate major infrastructure investments, such as hydrogen distribution pipelines. Liquid hydrogen storage and distribution networks may also emerge. However, the infrastructure is not yet in place. Boshoff adds that “the great thing about the Nu:ionic hydrogen generator is that it is a small to mid-scale plug-and-play solution for on-site hydrogen supply.” “All you need is water, methane, and power. These utilities are ubiquitous today and mean that we can put hydrogen in the places where it is needed, even before the hydrogen transmission and distribution infrastructure is ready. We are jump starting the hydrogen economy.” A team on the move Boshoff is keen to see his company’s technology develop further: “We will be building a 1 tonne per day hydrogen reformer this year. That will have a 500 kW microwave unit and will be based on our proven pilot plant in New Brunswick. Beyond that, we intend to leverage our experience in the development of world-scale gas-to-liquids processes to scale up to plants capable of 100+

room for optimisation on the reactor design and operation, including sulphur-tolerant reforming and non-equilibrium operation: “But as we are taking this one step at a time we can bring the cost and efficiency benefits associated with the electrification of fired heating to market sooner. However, we have a robust innovation pipeline and will implement further developments to the technology for future generations of the equipment.” The track record of the team at Nu:ionic is remarkable. Boshoff himself was a senior executive at Sasol, with responsibility for gas conversion to synthetic fuels processes. His co- founder and CTO, Jim Tranquilla, has more than 40 years of expertise under his belt. He was the CTO at Atlantic Hydrogen, where microwave pyrolysis was proven to be a potential means for turquoise hydrogen production, splitting methane to hydrogen and solid carbon. “In addition to our openness for financial sponsors, we are developing strategic partnerships in biogas utilisation, hydrogen for mobility as well as renewable energy storage markets,” adds Boshoff. “For example, we could imagine high levels of synergy with a play that could support us with access to the European market. We believe that the decarbonisation focus, biomethane availability, CCUS readiness, and the gas/power cost mix in some regions there will be highly compatible with our process.”

Stephen B. Harrison sbh@sbh4.de