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DECENTRALISED HYDROGEN GENERATION

The EU member states, including Austria, have committed themselves to the outcome of the 2015 UNFCCC Paris Agreement regarding Climate & Energy Policy. Under pressure of exceeding the 1.5° C climate targets and the impending climate catastrophe, the EU member states have set challenging goals for 2030 (with reference to 2005) with regard to the transportation sector.
With the “European Green Deal” Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has set the goal to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. In combination with fuel cell technology, hydrogen is the key energy source of the future, as the successful implementation of an increasingly climate friendly mobility sector heavily depends on the significant reduction of CO2 emissions.
Waste gasification is an efficient method of generating energy. Instead of pure heat generation, waste gasification enables an almost complete usage of the valuable resource waste.
Compared to volatile wind, solar and hydropower, the production of hydrogen from waste offers an outstanding cost advantage. Economically speaking, the availability of cheap green electricity is crucial for a cost-effective electrolysis.

Together with its partners, Hydrogen Produktions-und Betriebs GmbH has set itself the goal of producing inexpensive green hydrogen from waste energy. In order to achieve this goal, Hydrogen Produktions-und Betriebs GmbH plans to build plants for decentralized green electricity and hydrogen production.
The economic efficiency of this process compared to classic air gasification is essentially based on the following three advantages:

  • Avoidance of the atmospheric nitrogen ballast by means of an oxygen-water vapor reducing agent and, as a result, a doubling of the calorific value of the synthesis gas,
  • Combustion of the pyrolysis tars with energy gain and avoidance of expensive gas scrubbing,
  • Maximum energy efficiency through full use of process waste heat and maximum energy yield with a fuel efficiency of 97%.

It is the aim of Hydrogen Produktions-und Betriebs GmbH not only to build new waste gas power plants, but also to convert existing CHPs (biomass – heating power plants) to this much more efficient energy generation.
Customers for the main product of green hydrogen are primarily the industry sector and, after establishing a hydrogen filling station infrastructure, the regional public transportation sector. By marketing the by-products of generated heat and oxygen the joint sales concept facilitates a favorable hydrogen price.
In the project Traismauer the following input and output is given:

  • Input: – 35 000 t/year of solid biogenic waste
  • Output – 3200 t/year dimethyl ether or 1200 t/ year stored hydrogen

The economic advantages of this process technology relate in particular to two areas:

  1. By using a minimal portion (approx. 2%) of the produced oxygen in the electrolysis for the gasification process, together with the gasification of water vapor, the heating value in the synthesis gas is doubled compared to pure air gasification.
  2. In addition to the main product of green hydrogen the multiple use of waste energy results in the following well-marketable additional yields:
  • The Heat of the gas engine (approx. 90 °C) can be sold as district heating;
  • Electrolyser cooling heat (approx. 60 ° C) can be used for waste chips drying in the dryer and can subsequently be sold;
  • Oxygen from the electrolyser can be sold to sewage treatment plants, industry, O2 trading.