Hydrogen is an important factor in the EU quest to drastically reduce GHG emissions and curb its use of fossil fuels. The storage and transport of hydrogen, however, faces important challenges which hinder its broad application as an alternative and zero emission fuel. Storage of hydrogen as a gas typically requires high-pressure tanks (up to 700 bar tank pressure); storage of hydrogen as a liquid requires cryogenic temperatures because the boiling point of hydrogen at one atmosphere pressure is -253C. Therefore, for several applications, ammonia rises as a rather prominent vector if it can be produced efficiently. The production is traditionally bound by the constraints of thermodynamics, which require high synthesis pressures, as well as temperatures. Thus, NH3 is produced centralised/large-scaled.
HySTrAm builds on developing physical H2 storage materials, enabling short term storage (buffering renewables dynamics), as well as the 3 structural corner stones of flexible low pressure NH3: decreased Ru content catalysts, high temperature NH3 sorbents and induction-heated support granting (optimal) responsiveness. The project will demonstrate a compact containerised ammonia synthesis system which is based on two main consecutive stages:1) A short-term storage hydrogen vessel which will serve as a buffer to store and transport the hydrogen produced by electrolysis. Within the hydrogen vessel, new ultraporous material will be identified and optimised through machine learning technology 2) An ammonia synthesis reactor based on an improved the Haber-Bosch process where the stored hydrogen will react with nitrogen to form ammonia using the novel catalysts and sorbents developed in HySTrAm.