Development and scale-up of a first-of-a-kind hydrogen process
BACKGROUND
Many organisations are exploring methods to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change. Hydrogen is a promising carbon-free energy carrier that can meet energy demands. The current commercial technologies to produce hydrogen remain emission-intensive.
Our client, an ASX-listed company, invented a technology that uses iron ore as a sacrificial catalyst to convert methane into hydrogen and graphite instead of carbon dioxide.
Our client had completed an early proof of concept test at a university, had acquired the Intelectual Property, and wanted to scale-up the process in a 2-year timeframe. This was deemed unrealistic using standard technology development and R&D practices considering the current technology state.
Our client needed a development partner to enable scale-up and validation of their technology at scale, rapidly and reliably.
OUR WORK
Key results
We scaled up our client’s process by 100,000 times in 18 months, three years* faster than industry benchmark.
In collaboration with other project partners, we successfully scaled-up our client’s process from a minuscule lab-scale to a pilot-scale within an 18-month timeframe.
We identified the best regimes and operating conditions for the main reactor to give stable hydrogen and graphite production. These were validated through experiments.
We identified a new reaction method that increased hydrogen production by 5-fold, while reducing the operating temperature and pressure. This outcome substantially improved the economic viability of the process through CapEx and OpEx reduction.
We designed and, liaising with an engineering, procurement, and construction firm, built our client’s first pilot plant, capable of producing tens of kilograms of hydrogen per day.
Industry expectations of scaling up fine chemical process is at 10x per year. It was standard to forecast that it would take four years to scale by 100,000 whereas Scimita reached that mark by 18 months.
Services included…
Prototype rig design, construction, and setup
Design and execution of R&D programs
Scale-up and Piloting
Feasibility studies
Digital twin development
Technical Handbook development
Know-how protection
Process and rector design
Design tool development
Risk management and mitigation
Full knowledge transfer including client upskilling and creation of artefacts (manuals, schematics)
CLIENT STATEMENT
“Designs and implementation of solutions have made it possible for HAZER® to accelerate its core technology development goals.”