- The project consortium, led by the company Hiperbaric from Burgos, is also composed of the industrial companies Aciturri, Adisseo, Ariema, Desmasa, DGH Technological Solutions and MTorres, leaders in their respective sectors.
- ‘ValorH2’ aims to research the processes of generation, compression, storage, transport and use of green hydrogen to increase its efficiency, reduce the economic cost and minimize the carbon footprint.
- In addition, it will have the support of thirteen Public Research Organizations (PROs) between technology centers and leading universities at national level, and other specialized technical collaborations
Burgos, January 16, 2023. Within the framework of the call for Missions 2022 of the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI E.P.E), under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the project ‘ValorH2’ has been approved within its Mission 1: “Strengthening technological capabilities for safe and sustainable energy autonomy (fusion, hydrogen and renewables)”, in the field of green hydrogen. Its purpose is to research and innovate in the main parts of the hydrogen value chain, from its generation to its use. This project has a total budget of more than 7.2 million euros, and has been awarded a grant of 4.6 million (64%), from the European “Next Generation EU” funds, specifically from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism..
ValorH2′ is backed by a consortium of seven companies, led by Hiperbaric from Burgos, and which also includes the companies Aciturri, Adisseo, Ariema, Desmasa, DGH Technological Solutions and MTorres.
The R&D project will have the support of thirteen Public Research Organizations (OPIs), including technological centers and leading universities at national level, as well as other specialized technical collaborations. These organizations are: University of Burgos (UBU), Miranda de Ebro Technology Center (CTME), National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), AITIIP Foundation, Tecnalia, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), CIDAUT Foundation, Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), University of Salamanca (USAL), CEIT Technology Center, Foundation for Research, Development and Application of Composite Materials (FIDAMC), Association for Research and Industrial Cooperation of Andalusia (AICIA) and the Technological Institute of Plastics (AIMPLAS).
The overall objective of ‘ValorH2’ is research into technologies, materials and processes at different stages of the hydrogen value chain: the generation of hydrogen by alkaline electrolysis technology, the compression of this gas at very high pressure and providing a high flow rate, innovative solutions for storage and transport at very high pressure, and the use, on the one hand in the refueling of hydrogen in electric vehicles (fuel cells), and on the other hand in a process of methanation of CO2 recovered in chemical industry (chemical reagent), with the aim of increasing efficiency, reducing the economic cost and minimizing the carbon footprint in all of them.
Through research, the project will strengthen the technological capacity of the companies in the consortium, leaders in their respective sectors, which will contribute to positioning Spain as a leading country in the movement against climate change, facilitating the implementation of renewable energies, a key step towards decarbonization and energy independence.
“The high qualification and solid experience in technologies and innovation of each of the partners that are part of the consortium makes it possible to tackle a very ambitious project, in which we will promote new technologies that provide relevant innovations“, says Andrés Hernando, CEO of Hiperbaric, who also points out that although each partner is an expert in a specific technological field, “the project contemplates activities in which interaction and the development of joint innovations are considered, which will undoubtedly highlight possible synergies between us.”
Dissemination plan
In addition to research, ‘ValorH2’ will work to raise awareness of the need to implement a decarbonized economy, through various dissemination activities during the execution of the project. In this sense, the preliminary dissemination plan includes participation in national and international events related to renewable energies and especially focused on hydrogen, and the realization of conferences to present the progress of the project and the results obtained. Likewise, if results or data susceptible of being published in scientific journals due to their interest are generated, these publications will be in Open Access (OA) mode. As a final event, the ‘ValorH2 Hydrogen Tech Demo Day’ is planned, which will serve as a showcase to present the most relevant results and conclusions of the project and to show the different pilots developed in it (electrolyzer, hydrogen plant, etc.).
“The seven companies that make up the consortium have amply demonstrated industrial capacity,” says Hernando. For five of them, this project will allow them to enter new lines of business dedicated to hydrogen technologies. For the two that already have commercial products in this sector, Hiperbaric and Ariema, it will allow them to expand their businesses, thanks to the more efficient and competitive solutions investigated in ‘ValorH2’.
