The Greene Waste to Energy SME, the Technological Institute of Energy (ITE), and the Valencian Community Energy Cluster (CECV) are working on an innovative project that will combine two hot topics in the energy sector: green hydrogen generation and the circular economy.
The project is based on the production of hydrogen using gasification techniques from waste rejection mixtures that end up in landfills, as well as simulation models for optimizing the process. SIGEN2H2 is an ambitious project because the use of this waste implies a circular economy and production routines.
SIGEN2H2’s main goal is to find the best methods for generating circular and renewable hydrogen from waste mixtures that would otherwise end up in landfills or incinerated, as well as to conduct analysis research using optimization techniques based on modeling and energetic-productive simulation in its H2 generation section, which will help to virtually analyze the approach taken and the results obtained.
For this, a waste mixture is used, one that includes both biogenic and fossil components, as well as hydrogen in its elemental composition. The majority of the gas from the biogenic fraction, which is lower in hydrogen and has a neutral CO2 balance, is combusted to feed the engine that generates electricity for the plant; the electrical surplus is used in the electrolyser that it generates; either oxygen and additional hydrogen to that produced by the decomposition of the fossil fraction, which is high in hydrogen.
SIGEN2H2’s activities are incorporated into the CECV Strategic Plan, which includes strategies such as decarbonisation, waste recovery, energy efficiency, and applied digitalisation.
On the other hand, the project will allow researchers to determine which technologies are the most effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This project is part of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism’s call for Innovative Business Groups, which aims to improve SMEs’ competitiveness as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.