HyVALUE: Novel upcycling production process based on an innovative circular business model for urban waste streams valorisation for the generation of high-quality hydrogen.
- Coordinator: NOVARGI and IET ECOLOGY – TUBACEX
- Location: Spain
- Sector: Hydrogen
- Amount of Innovation Fund grant: EUR 4 458 000
- Total project relevant cost: EUR 7 430 000
- Starting date: 01/11/2021
- Planned date of entry into operation: 30/04/2024
Projects summary: The HYVALUE project will produce high quality hydrogen based on an innovative production process using, amongst other, municipal solid waste. The project will annually produce 1 600 tonnes of hydrogen for transport and industrial sectors, using 12 000 tonnes of municipal solid waste.
High hydrogen production yields with a more energy efficient process
The HYVALUE project will allow the production of high-quality hydrogen (>99.9% purity) in a demonstration facility in the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, using as feedstock local Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) otherwise destined for landfill. The MSW includes municipal refuse-derived fuels (RDF), plastic wastes, wastewater treatment plant sludge, automobile defragmentation waste and biomass.
The project introduces an innovative design and combination of state-of-the-art gasification technologies that increase the performance of cracking and pyrolysis employed to produce hydrogen. Specifically, the system is designed to prioritize low energy (also meaning low temperature) processes to the maximum extent. All this translates into high hydrogen production yields with a more energy efficient process.
Circularity: using landfill waste to decarbonise energy intensive industries
The type of hydrogen that will be produced is suitable for transport and industrial applications and can help to decarbonise those sectors. Based on a production capacity of 1 600 tonnes per annum (tpy) of hydrogen, the project will avoid more than 130 000 tCO2e net absolute emissions during its first ten years of operation.
This project will also prevent 12 000 tonnes per year of waste being landfilled, corresponding to a reduction of 85% of processed raw materials. This reduction will avoid 100% of landfill-generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which also comprises methane emissions. Reducing waste sent to landfill will also lower the risks associated with water, land, and localised air pollution.
This technology is in line with the circular economy principles and provides economic and societal benefits at the same time. Local industries (the metal sector especially) will benefit from the increase in a local supply of clean hydrogen that will contribute to their low carbon transition, create new green jobs, and boost hydrogen-related R&D spending.
HYVALUE concept
Scale-up potential within the waste management value chain anywhere in Europe
The technology could be easily replicated to other sites within the waste management value chain anywhere in Europe. Such a market development will be supported by the EU requirement to reduce municipal waste to landfill to 10% by 2035 (in Spain, the rate is currently more than 50%). Cost competitive hydrogen availability will also help local institutions in promoting hydrogen use in high value-added applications, such as energy intensive industries and transport.
