KU Leuven spinoff plans MW-scale production of portray voltaic-hydrogen panels
Solhyd, a KU Leuven spinoff, is refining its expertise to achieve megawatt-scale production of hydrogen-producing portray voltaic panels with a €6 million ($6.5 million) investment from a consortium of Flemish patrons.
Marija Maisch
After years of sparkling-tuning its portray voltaic-hydrogen panel expertise, Solhyd has spun off from KU Leuven in Belgium and is making an strive to train its doable in market-oriented, pilot projects and extra originate its manufacturing capabilities.
The newly established firm has raised seed capital from a neighborhood of entrepreneurs energetic in Flanders, which trust committed to injecting as much as €6 million into the firm over the following couple of years. The main tranche of €2 million turn out to be as soon as positioned on the table on Thursday.
“Now we trust got a amount of passion from patrons from all corners of the enviornment,” Jan Rongé, CEO of Solhyd, advised pv magazine. “We will have the flexibility to now specialise in setting up a community of partners, suppliers and device integrators and put collectively for megawatt-scale production by 2026.”
The Solhyd expertise combines a typical PV panel and a proprietary hydrogen-producing layer which can maybe well be connected via gas tubes. Electrical energy produced by the high layer portray voltaic panel is fashioned by catalysts to interrupt up water molecules extracted straight some distance from the air the usage of a membrane. The device is alleged to originate 250 liters of hydrogen per day, at a peak efficiency of 15%.
“The fashioned accurate life efficiency we’re focusing on is 12% and upwards,” Rongé acknowledged.
Solhyd hydrogen panels are like minded with most commercial PV modules, which can maybe well be straight away plugged into the hydrogen-producing device.
“At this point, we favor to drag along with mono PERC panels, nonetheless we’re additionally very unparalleled attempting forward to perovskite-silicon tandems, which we question to be a if truth be told distinguished step in our be pleased model,” Rongé acknowledged. “On the opposite hand, within the prolonged term, it makes sense to accomplice up with particular PV suppliers to optimize the technological synergies corresponding to dimensions and working voltage.”
To this point, the expertise has been tested in heaps of climates and demonstrated that it is going to also be deployed practically any place on this planet.
“The figuring out components is the solar. The hydrogen output straight away is determined by the portray voltaic input,” Rongé acknowledged. “Our panels can retailer humidity, so if you happen to’ve got just a few dry days, that ought to now not be a verbalize. The device has some resilience in that admire.”
The expertise has additionally been tested in Africa, where it confirmed even better outcomes than in Belgium.
Widespread verbalize material
“A Belgium summer night is drier and shorter than most African nights,” Rongé acknowledged. “It is most productive within the heart of the dessert that our panel would trust a verbalize to work efficiently,” he acknowledged. “In northwestern Europe prerequisites, one module can originate spherical 6 kg of hydrogen per twelve months, nonetheless in additional sunny regions you may also with out grief drag to 12 kg per twelve months.”
A 1,000 square-meter roof would then originate 2 tons to 4 a amount of hydrogen per twelve months. A smaller roof with 20 hydrogen panels would originate 120 kg to 240 kg per twelve months, which is 4 MWh to 8 MWh of hydrogen vitality.
Most now not too prolonged ago, Solhyd done a batch of 10 panels to be deployed at a finding out mission in Belgium.
“There’s soundless a amount of handbook work alive to and we’re studying which steps we favor and quality modify measures to facilitate and rush up the production direction of,” Rongé acknowledged.
Solhyd’s plan is to narrate a trudge-and-play resolution which is able to be primarily utilized in industries corresponding to the steel and chemical industry to develop their operations extra sustainable.
“Making hydrogen at your be pleased premises with a modular expertise like ours will additionally be spirited for SMEs,” Rongé acknowledged. “They’ve a if truth be told sturdy time finding sensible hydrogen or finding green hydrogen the least bit, because transporting hydrogen in all fairness pricey especially for folks who will now not be located at ports.”
He acknowledged they repeatedly assess the safety qualities of the expertise internally and with external consultants to think doable risks. He noted that Solhyd panels generate hydrogen at a low stress of 300 mbar to 500 mbar, equivalent to gas distribution grid stress.
“We now trust designed our hydrogen panels to work at a if truth be told low stress bacause it is price optimal and safer. They comprise practically no hydrogen the least bit or much less one gram per panel so meaning the peril is extremely tiny,” Ronge acknowledged. “The peril most productive starts ought to you may want to maybe well be making an strive to amass and retailer the hydrogen at a central space.”
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