PETRONAS and Heriot-Watt University to jointly develop hydrogen from biomass waste

October 26, 2022 |

In the UK, PETRONAS and Heriot-Watt University have entered into a research partnership to jointly develop cost-effective technologies to produce hydrogen from biomass waste, in line with both organisations’ aspiration for a carbon-neutral future and a circular economy.  

The £1M research project is a collaboration under PETRONAS Centre of Excellence in Subsurface Engineering and Energy Transition (PACESET), one of the three Global Technology Centres established by PETRONAS and its academic partners to advance low-carbon and cleaner energy solutions. PACESET is based at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, United Kingdom.  

The research will advance techniques to use thermochemical reactions to produce hydrogen from biomass and other waste materials. Researchers will also explore solutions to address scalability and storage – main barriers in popularising hydrogen as an alternative energy – to promote adoption globally.   

The research will initially focus on utilising the estimated 4m tonnes of waste and by-products created by distilleries in the UK and the approximately 127m tonnes of agriculture waste generated annually in Malaysia for hydrogen production. The academic team will also explore storage solutions aiming to utilise depleted oil wells for pure hydrogen storage without the need to add natural gas for stability. 

Category: Research

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