| COUPLE will demonstrate an ammonia cracking technology by an innovative coupling of palladium-based membranes reactors (PdMR) and proton ceramic electrochemical reactors (PCER) to produce 100 kg H2/day of high-purity, pressurized hydrogen over 5000 h. The COUPLE technology will achieve an energy efficiency > 90 % by process intensification leveraging the unique strengths of both PdMR and PCER membranes in a highly integrated system. The high flow rates of PdMR membranes enable an efficient hydrogen extraction while shifting the thermodynamic equilibrium, while the PCER membranes further extract hydrogen electrochemically and also compress it and generate heat for the overall endothermic ammonia cracking reaction. This balanced thermal management minimizes energy losses and external energy inputs, enhancing overall efficiency, and achieving > 99.9 % ammonia conversion and > 95 % hydrogen recovery while significantly lowering the total cost of ownership to 0.75 €/kg H2 (excluding ammonia costs). The 100 kg/day demonstration plant will be located in Poppendorf, Germany, and the project aims to secure off-take of the produced hydrogen during operation. The overall system will be controlled and analysed by an advanced control system and an associated digital twin that will be developed in the project. The achievements in COUPLE will be an important proof of technological feasibility advancing the technology from TRL5 to TRL7. To strengthen the implementation, COUPLE will actively disseminate and communicate the results to influence stakeholders in the value chain. This includes assessment of social acceptance of ammonia as an energy carrier by applying social science methodology to identify acceptance-relevant factors. The consortium counts on partners from the industry, institute and academia sector with high world-wide excellence in the respective fields of catalysis, membrane reactors, process engineering, control systems, and industrial ammonia safety and operations. |
