Cooperation agreements in the framework of NRRP POR H2
By provision no. 465/2022/PRES dated 25/11/2022, ENEA published a call for expression of interest from public actors with institutional or statutory research purposes and with the necessary technical and professional capacity and organisation, to cooperate in the framework of NRRP POR H2.
Cooperation agreements aim to fund research on certain activities, which are listed in specific Activity Sheets, in line with the objectives of NRRP Mission 2 “Green revolution and ecological transition”, component 2 “Renewable energy, hydrogen, grid and sustainable mobility”, investment 3.5 “Hydrogen research and development”.
The total budget for the agreements amounts to € 4,213,000 and is allocated based on the lines of action already identified by ENEA.
The University of Bologna’s projects
The University submitted two expressions of interest, both of which have been awarded funding, through the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN) and the Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari” (CHIMIND). The research groups of the structures will cooperate directly with ENEA, sharing their respective knowledge and competencies on the relevant themes for the development of the activities.
The 2 winning projects are:
Analytical characterisation of catalytic materials for contaminant load reduction in the gas stream from biomass gasification and biogenic fractions
- Scientific coordinator: Professor Francesco Basile
- Department: Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari” (CHIMIND)
- Line of action: WP1.1 Research and development of advanced (low and high-temperature) electrolysers, or other innovative technologies, for green, low-emission hydrogen production – LA1.1.14_A Study and development of O2-steam gasification in an internally circulating fluidised bed reactor
- Funding: € 25,000
- Duration: 34 months
Design of a high-performance AEL stack
- Scientific coordinator: Professor Cesare Saccani
- Department: Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN)
- Line of action: WP1.1 Research and development of advanced (low and high-temperature) electrolysers, or other innovative technologies, for green, low-emission hydrogen production – LA1.1.2 Development of high-performance alkaline electrolysers
- Funding: € 90,000
- Duration: 28 months
Hydrogen research projects: MASE notice (type A)
By provision dated 23/03/2022, the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) published a notice for innovation paths that support the objectives of the NRRP Mission 2 “Green revolution and ecological transition”, component 2 “Renewable energy, hydrogen, grid and sustainable mobility”, investment 3.5 “Hydrogen research and development”.
The call for applications is addressed to universities and research centres. Businesses may participate in the projects and receive the corresponding benefits only as joint proposers, with a percentage of participation of no less than 5% and no more than 15% of the overall project cost.
The projects will focus on fundamental research in the following areas: green and clean hydrogen production; innovative technologies for hydrogen storage and transport and for hydrogen conversion into derivatives and e-fuels; fuel cells for stationary and mobile applications.
The total budget for the initiative amounts to € 20,000,000, at least 40% of which is allocated to projects to be carried out mainly or entirely at sites, branches, facilities or laboratories located in Regions of Southern Italy. The total amount of each project will be between € 2,000,000 and € 4,000,000.
The University of Bologna’s project
The University submitted a project as joint proposer through the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), in partnership with the Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi” (DIFA) and the Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari” (CHIMIND).
Winning project:
NoMaH - Novel Materials for Hydrogen storage
- Scientific coordinator: Maria Alessandra Ancona (DIN)
- Departments involved in the project: Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN) (Lead department of the University of Bologna); Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi” (DIFA); Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari” (CHIMIND)
- Project leader: Università della Calabria
- Funding: € 700,000 (DIN: € 290,000, CHIMIND: € 270,000, DIFA: € 140,000)
- Duration: 36 months
Abstract
The NoMaH project aims to bridge the gap between existing hydrogen storage technologies and the need for the widespread application of hydrogen in energy communities that currently employ high-pressure or low-temperature storage. This action seeks to develop and certify advanced and/or hybrid systems by taking full advantage of the production of materials whose structure and composition are controlled at the nanoscale (nanomaterials), in order to synthesise new hydrogen adsorbents.
The aim is thus to create hydrogen tanks that are capable of operating at such temperature and pressure that energy costs and safety issues are minimised. Furthermore, the project is committed to using sustainable materials (such as biochar) while avoiding those the production or disposal of which is environmentally expensive or harmful.
The proposers will take a multidisciplinary approach that, based on the long-standing expertise that each of them has in its own field, will allow achieving the following objectives.
- Develop new intermetallic compounds for reversible chemical storage, suitable for the absorption at room temperature of hydrogen produced by electrolysers at approximately 30 bar and for its desorption at moderate temperature at approximately 1 bar, e.g. to feed a fuel cell.
- Develop new, ultra-microporous adsorbent carbon materials, designed for an enhanced adsorption capacity at temperatures above the temperature of liquid nitrogen and at pressures up to 30 bar (i.e. compatible with high-pressure electrolysers).
- Study materials and devices for physical and chemical hydrogen storage systems.
- Due to extreme operating conditions and lack of infrastructures, liquid H2 storage and distribution are still expensive. A new, NH3-based method for H2 production and handling would be a promising combination to achieve a safe and sustainable H2 economy. At the moment, NH3 is often converted into H2 by means of a catalytic cracking reaction at relatively high temperatures. The NoMaH project will consider a flexible and decentralised process to produce hydrogen from ammonia, thanks to new-generation reactors and catalysts at mild conditions.
- Develop a hardware-in-the-loop model to simulate use scenarios of hybrid hydrogen storage in the energy system of energy communities.
