A novel multi-stage steam gasification and syngas purification demonstration plant for waste to hydrogen conversion

Europe faces the joint challenge of decarbonising ever newer sectors and applications, whilst also seeking clean waste treatment and valorisation pathways. With over 300Mt of waste generated each year, Europe could produce up to 30Mt of clean hydrogen from waste to accelerate the decarbonisation of challenging sectors like aviation and heavy industry. However, exploiting this energy potential remains a challenge and so far, no robust and cost-effective solutions has been successfully commercialised. HYIELD aims to open a new low-cost pathway for clean hydrogen production and waste disposal. The project proposes a novel multi-stage steam gasification and syngas purification plant concept, which will efficiently convert different organic waste streams into hydrogen and is expected to achieve H2 99.97% purity and 62-74% energy conversion efficiency. The concept includes several beyond state-of-the-art innovations, including a novel process design, waste heat exploitation, Water-Gas-Shift membrane reactor, low-pressure metal hydride storage buffer and IA driven digital twin. The solution will be implemented at 3MW scale in a cement plant in Spain, where the hydrogen will be exploited for cement kiln firing. The demonstrator is expected to operate for 4,000h over a 15-month testing period with at least 10 different organic waste streams, treating over 3.9kt of dry material and producing 650t of hydrogen. It will also carry out the groundwork for up-scaling post-project locally and across the EU, working closely with industrial partners from the cement, steel, copper and gas sectors. It is forecasted that the solution will be able to deliver a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen of 2.19€/kg at industrial scale (20,000t/year waste treated), far below current electrolyser pathways (>5.5€/kg). The project is led by a consortium of Europe’s leading research groups, technology developers and industrial players in the hydrogen sector, from Spain, France, Germany, Norway and Luxembourg.