Biorenewables Development Centre is involved in two new projects aimed at decarbonising the UK transport sector.
The Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) is part of two new Hydrogen BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) Innovation Programme projects which has been funded by the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) that have been awarded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The BDC, a subsidiary of the University of York is an open-access research, development and demonstration centre working at the interface between academia and industry to develop, scale-up and commercialise bio-based products and processes.
Joe Ross, Director at the BDC said; “We are delighted to be part of these phase one projects and work with academic and industry partners to explore how low carbon hydrogen technologies can offer potential solutions for decarbonising the UK transport sector and contribute towards the UK’s net-zero goals.”
The first project; Utilisation of Biorefinery Residues for Blue Hydrogen Production will look at the growing use of biofuels produced through fermentation and digesters. The project will produce hydrogen through gasification of digester sludges and focus on cost effective treatment of bio-refinery waste for use as a gasifier feedstock, which will also have process efficiency benefits. The project is led by the University of Hull, other partners include the BDC, Aston University, Jesmond Engineering and Teesside University.
The second project, H2-Boost aims to produce biohydrogen for the UK transport sector in an environmentally sustainable and commercially viable manner. The multi-step process uses organic waste readily available as feedstock which is initially pre-treated to increase biodegradability and hydrogen yields in a subsequent biological process (dark fermentation) to transform organic compounds into hydrogen gas and other valuable by-products. The partners will conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the potential of this technology and produce a business case for implementation at full scale. The project is led by the University of Leeds, other partners include the BDC, Greenthread Solutions, NNFCC and Aardvark EM.
After these six month projects are completed, the partners will have the opportunity to apply for further phase two funding. The Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme supports technologies which can produce hydrogen from biogenic feedstocks and be combined with carbon capture. It forms part of the BEIS £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s.