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Sustainable Innovations is developing a technology for efficient separation and compression of hydrogen gas. The electrochemical hydrogen separator and compressor can actively remove hydrogen from a mixture and compress it to high pressure for storage or use. In applications where helium is used as a purge gas prior to the use of liquid hydrogen or use of cold hydrogen from cryogenic storage boil-off, the compressor system is suitable for separation of the hydrogen from the helium in the resulting mixed stream. This technology allows a significant portion of either gas to be recycled and conserved. In applications requiring recycling of helium where abundant hydrogen is present, it is practical to utilize the energy content of a portion of the hydrogen to power the electrochemical separation of hydrogen from the helium. This novel application leverages hydrogen that was destined for flaring and oxidizes it electrochemically to power separation of hydrogen from helium, thus allowing recovery of the helium and delivering net power.
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This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.
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