Imagine a battery that doesn't just store electricity, but turns waste from paper mills into valuable chemicals while capturing hydrogen. Instead of making hydrogen gas, which is hard to move, it loads the hydrogen directly into a liquid carrier, like a rechargeable fuel. This process uses less energy because it skips the expensive steps of traditional water splitting.
Green hydrogen production is often too energy-intensive and expensive to store and transport. Simultaneously, pulp and paper industries struggle to profitably valorize lignin waste streams.
An electrocatalytic device and associated components (catalysts, electrodes, membranes) that produce LOHC and biochemicals from lignin.
If you are a paper mill operator dealing with lignin waste streams — this project developed an electrocatalytic device that converts this waste into high-value biochemicals while producing green hydrogen storage.
If you are a transport provider dealing with the high cost of hydrogen gas storage — this project developed a method to load hydrogen directly into liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) for more economic distribution.
If you are a bio-chemical manufacturer dealing with high carbon footprints — this project developed a process to produce carbon-neutral bio-derived chemicals using renewable energy.
Based on available project data, it reduces energy intensity by modifying both cathodic and anodic reactions, avoiding the formation of molecular H2 and oxygen, which improves overall energy efficiency.
Based on available project data, the project is currently focused on the validation of the full module cell operation at a laboratory scale.
Based on available project data, there is no specific information regarding patents or licensing terms provided in the summary.
The device is designed for flexible integration with biorefineries and pulp & paper industries to valorize their existing lignin waste streams.
The project period runs from 2022-10-01 to 2026-09-30.
The consortium is well-balanced for technology transfer, featuring a 38% industry ratio with 3 industrial partners, including a large engineering company and a world-leading LOHC SME. The collaboration between 5 universities and 3 industry players across 5 countries suggests a strong pipeline from academic research in electrocatalysis to practical logistics and engineering implementation.
Luleå Tekniska Universitet
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