Pilot plant to generate green hydrogen using microwaves
UPV, CSIC and Sener sign an agreement to develop a pilot plant to generate green hydrogen using microwaves
The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and the engineering and technology group Sener have signed an agreement today to develop a pilot plant for the generation of green hydrogen, based on a disruptive technology developed by a team of researchers from the UPV’s ITACA Institute and the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ, CSIC-UPV).
After almost ten years of collaborative research, the technology developed by this UPV and CSIC team makes it possible to generate green hydrogen using microwaves. This revolutionary breakthrough is based on the microwave reduction of solid materials at unusually low temperatures compared to other technologies and was published in 2020 in the journal Nature Energy.
The technology, protected internationally through a family of patents, allows electrochemical processes to be carried out directly without the need for electrodes, making its practical application substantially simpler and cheaper. This is achieved through freedom in the device architecture design and in the choice of operating conditions, mainly temperature. These factors allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the hydrogen generation process. Its development greatly impacted the international level, positioning the Universitat Politècnica de València and the CSIC as global leaders in this technology.
The agreement signed this morning by the rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València, José E. Capilla; the vice-president of innovation and transfer of the CSIC, Ana Castro; and the business director of Energy of Sener, Juan Ivorra, will allow the development of a pilot plant to determine the costs of commercial exploitation of this technology, with a view to its possible industrial implementation.
The event was also attended by researchers Jose M. Catalá and Felipe Peñaranda, from UPV’s ITACA Institute, and José M. Serra, from the ITQ, leaders of the research groups that developed the revolutionary green hydrogen generation technology.
