The UnLOHCked project led by the SUPREN research group receives funding of 3 million euros from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. (Autor: Elda Campos Lavín)
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), achieving climate neutrality is essential to curb global warming. The European Union aims to achieve energy neutrality by 2050 and has therefore implemented the «A Clean Planet for All» programme in order to achieve a more sustainable energy model.
The main objective of this initiative is the creation of new technologies that enable the production, transport and storage of hydrogen (CO2-free H2, also known as green hydrogen). This will reduce the use of fossil fuels and achieve decarbonisation in areas such as cement manufacturing, chemicals and other sectors.
LOHC: the key to H2 transport and storage
LOHC (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers) technology, organic compounds that absorb or release hydrogen through chemical reactions, is one of the main alternatives being studied for the transport and storage of green hydrogen through existing channels. Thus, the advantages of this option include: the ability to store H2 safely and for long periods of time under ambient conditions, the ability to transport it through existing infrastructures such as pipelines, ships, etc., and also the release of this hydrogen quickly and effectively.
Funding and participation
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a public-private partnership that supports research and innovation initiatives in hydrogen technologies in Europe, will grant funding of three million euros to the UnLOHCked project, presented by an international consortium led by the UPV/EHU’s SuPrEn research group. The consortium has also set out to develop a new technology to improve the storage and transport of H2 over long distances. To realise the full potential of LOHC technologies, it plans to build an efficient, CO2-free dehydrogenation plant that can be used by large industries. The SherLOHCk project, which is currently under development, is a continuation of the UnLOHCked project, which is also based on LOHC hydrogenation and dehydrogenation technologies.
The interdisciplinary consortium is made up of seven partners from five countries: the School of Engineering of Bilbao, as leader of the consortium; two French research centres: CEA (Commissariat à L’énergie Atomique et Aux Énergies Alternatives) and CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); North-West NWU (South Africa); and leading companies in their sector: Heraeus and Framatome (Germany), and Hygear (The Netherlands).
+info: eus/es/-/hidrogeno-verde