The pursuit of green hydrogen liquefaction: Raven, Chart, GenH2 in the hunt for solutions large and small

December 26, 2022 |

From the wilds of western Wyoming comes the welcome news for the hydrogen fanbase that Raven SR and Chart Industries inked a global collab for the liquefaction, storage, and transportation of hydrogen as well as pure carbon dioxide produced from Raven SR’s non-combustion Steam/CO2 Reformation process of converting waste to renewable fuel. Chart Industries is a engineering design and manufacturing shop for multiple applications in the clean energy and industrial gas markets.

Think Big

Raven SR produces transportation-grade hydrogen as well as Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel  using local waste as a feedstock, including green waste, municipal solid waste, organic waste, and methane from municipal solid waste or stranded natural gas wells. A byproduct of this process is captured CO2, which when liquefied is a commodity used for food and beverage production, fertilizer production, and other consumer applications. In addition, CO2 can be a feedstock for concrete or alternative fuels such as eFuels.

The Raven SR technology is a non-combustion thermal, chemical reductive process that converts organic waste and landfill gas to hydrogen and Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels. Unlike other hydrogen production technologies, its Steam/CO2 Reformation does not require fresh water as a feedstock. The process is more efficient than conventional hydrogen production and can deliver fuel with low to negative carbon intensity. Additionally, Raven SR’s goal is to generate as much of its own power onsite as possible to reduce reliance on the power grid and be independent of the grid. Its modular design provides a scalable means to locally produce renewable hydrogen and synthetic liquid fuels from local waste.

Think Small

Over in Florida, GenH2 has launched its LS20 Mobile Liquid Hydrogen System, an end-to-end liquefaction and storage system. The innovative, mobile liquefaction unit offers a space-optimized, fully integrated liquid hydrogen solution to be used in a range of applications from transportation to energy backup to accelerating the use of liquid hydrogen through pilot projects and testing. 

It’s small, by design.  The LS20 is designed for those areas where relatively compact systems are necessary to enable hydrogen viability. The LS20 can produce between two and 20kg of liquid hydrogen per day. 20kg of liquid hydrogen contains nearly 2400 Megajoules of energy and can be readily stored and used within GenH2’s ultralight utility tank systems.

The smallest liquid hydrogen mobile unit currently commercially available, the LS20 is self-sustaining and can run independently with a portable generator or plug into a building’s power source. This makes the LS20 ideal for dispensing fuel to multi-purpose drones and providing an emergency power supply to first responders.  The LS20 also serves as a foundation for higher capacity GenH2 systems including the 100Kg LH2 per day and 1000Kg LH2 per day solutions.

The Bottom Line

Making hydrogen is tough enough, usually we have to move it, and that’s tougher. For many, liquefaction is the answer, where pipeline is unavailable or production volumes are too small to contemplate adding reactors and modules to make fuel or chemical molecules. Accordingly, these are small steps for hydrogen but could be a giant leap for the bioeconomy.

Reaction from the stakeholders

“By partnering with Chart Industries, Raven SR will be able to optimize our facilities’ production of clean fuels, strengthening both project deployment and regional fuel supply,” said Matt Murdock, CEO of Raven SR. “As we expand globally, it is essential for Raven SR to collaborate with a world leader in hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage and transportation in order to increase energy efficiency throughout the supply chain.”

“We are excited to partner with Raven SR, a world leader in sustainable solutions, including waste to energy and transportation applications,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s CEO and President. “This collaboration brings two companies together that combined can offer a robust solution set of options for renewables customers as well as further progressing our customers’ CO2 reduction goals.”

“The development of the LS20 has been a culmination of decades of experience and engineering within and in conjunction with NASA,” said Jong Baik, Chief Technology Officer of GenH2. “Providing researchers and developers of hydrogen infrastructure with a modular, efficient way of getting their hands on liquid hydrogen is a vital requirement to advance the hydrogen economy.”

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