Hydrogen Recovery System

Rocket test operations at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) result in substantial quantities of hydrogen gas that is flared from the facility and helium gas that is vented. One way to save on the cost of test operations is to recover these gases using an electrochemical system. This Hydrogen Recovery System (HRS) selectively removes hydrogen from the mixed stream, leaving behind high-value helium. The system then removes residual water vapor from this helium and compresses it to commercial storage pressure. The heart of the HRS is a system platform under commercial development by Sustainable Innovations, termed H2RENEWTM, an electrochemical system package that separates and compresses hydrogen using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology. The system being developed in this Phase II STTR program targets a hydrogen removal rate of 1.77 scfm, an outlet hydrogen pressure of 200 psi, and a product helium pressure of 2,000 2,500 psi. This system leverages a robust novel Expandable Modular Architecture (EMA) electrochemical cell stack that is capable of being constructed with a very large production capacity and high operating pressure.

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.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.