Development and Field Testing of a Tri-Generation Pyrolysis (TGP) System for Low-cost, Clean Hydrogen Production

Ekona Power Inc.


Project Type

Development

Project Value

$23,200,000

Project Status

Active

Location

Cenovus/Suncor Alberta

Funding Amount

$5,000,000

The project will develop and demonstrate a novel pulse methane pyrolysis (PMP) system for low-cost, clean, industrial H2 production.  The project will also demonstrate a direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC), which converts solid by-product carbon from the PMP process to electrical power and enhances the economics of hydrogen production.  The resulting tri-generation pyrolysis (TGP) platform produces clean hydrogen at costs lower than conventional steam methane reforming (SMR) with up to 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

In Phase 1, a prototype PMP reactor and DCFC button cell will be built and tested to verify performance against technical requirements.  In Phase 2, a PMP brass-board system will be built and tested to verify balance of plant integration.  In addition, a DCFC unit cell will be built to demonstrate a scalable and repeatable building block for subsequent fuel cell stack development.  In Phase 3, a field deployable PMP system will be tested in Alberta to evaluate performance against customer requirements.  The field trial unit will generate clean H2 (200 kg/day) and solid carbon from natural gas for applications including industrial H2 production and natural gas decarbonization.  The total budget for this 3-year project is $13.8 (CAD).