PyroGenesis Canada has announced the launch of a new zero-carbon emission (“ZCE”) hydrogen production technology that is expected to compete with conventional technologies in producing environmentally friendly hydrogen.
PyroGenesis’ new hydrogen production technology is now in testing and is expected to convert methane to hydrogen, resulting in ZCE hydrogen. Water electrolysis, the traditional ZCE process, is extremely expensive, requires a lot of energy, and uses rare earth materials. The buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere contributes to global warming. The Paris Agreement commits 191 countries to limiting GHG emissions, while many territories, including the European Union, have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
“The conventional method to produce hydrogen is called “Steam Methane Reforming”, which produces GHGs as a result”, said P. Peter Pascali, CEO and Chair of PyroGenesis. “Another technology used to produce hydrogen is called “Water Electrolysis”. It has been around for many years and is considered to be a ZCE technology. The hydrogen generated from this process is generally referred to as “Green Hydrogen”, however it is recognized to (i) be relatively expensive, (ii) require a lot of energy, and (iii) use rare earth materials. PyroGenesis’ new technology is expected to combine the best of both worlds; it is expected to be cheaper than any existing hydrogen process while at the same time producing ZCE hydrogen. The hydrogen generated by this process is referred to as “Turquoise Hydrogen”. The Company does not expect that this new process would compete with its iron ore pelletization offering where fossil fuel burners are replaced with plasma torches but, in fact, would complement theses plasma torch offerings by providing a hydrogen alternative elsewhere in the manufacturing process.”
PyroGenesis has filed an international application with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) under the title “Hydrogen production from hydrocarbons by plasma pyrolysis,” with the application number PCT/CA2021/000099. This PCT application describes the Company’s method for producing hydrogen from methane and other light hydrocarbons using thermal plasma while emitting no GHGs.
PyroGenesis’ technology has a theoretical electricity cost three times lower than water electrolysis to produce the same amount of hydrogen, making it one of the most energy-efficient ZCE hydrogen production technologies. The technology is easily scalable, and the capital cost per unit of hydrogen production is comparable to that of steam methane reforming technology, the most established commercial hydrogen production technology.
The combustion of ZCE hydrogen for heating in industrial processes and transportation produces water vapor as a combustion byproduct rather than carbon dioxide, lowering global GHG emissions. As a result, many industrial processes are looking for ways to replace fossil fuels and reactants like coal, oil, and natural gas with ZCE hydrogen. ZCE consumption is expected to rise from 0.5 million tons per year in 2020 to 12.5 million tons in 2030 in the iron and steel manufacturing industries alone. 1 Once again, the Company does not expect this new process to compete with its iron ore pelletization offering, which replaces fossil fuel burners with plasma torches, but rather to complement these plasma torch offerings by providing a hydrogen alternative elsewhere in the manufacturing process.
“Filing our U.S. provisional patent application, along with the international PCT application is an important milestone as we move forward with launching a new method for producing ZCE hydrogen through an energy-efficient and reliable plasma process”, said Pierre Carabin, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis. “There is a high demand for technologies that use clean renewable electricity. Currently, the only commercially available process to produce clean hydrogen is water electrolysis. In this process, electrical energy is used to convert water to hydrogen and oxygen. However, the water electrolysis process suffers from several drawbacks, including high energy consumption and the need for a high quantity of rare materials, which is not sustainable. We believe our new proprietary hydrogen production process will be much more energy efficient, cost-effective and scalable than other forms of hydrogen production.”
