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Completed TRL 5 (started at 3, targeting 5)
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.
The underlying technology is directly applicable to several important NASA applications. These include: - Recycling of hydrogen and helium used in rocket testing applications. - Recycling/compression of hydrogen used in space exploration applications - Generation of high pressure hydrogen for conducting mechanical work. - Creation of a large-scale electrochemical architecture for power and gas generation applications including electrolysis of water, fuel cells, and energy storage.
The underlying technology directly benefits many commercial applications. These include: - Simple, high-pressure capable hydrogen compressors - Cryogenic hydrogen boil-off recovery - Efficient separation of hydrogen from helium at natural gas well sites - Separation and compression of hydrogen in various production processes, such as from steam methane reforming and stationary power fuel cells. - Creation of a large scale electrochemical cell architecture to support fuel cell, water electrolysis, regenerative fuel cell, and flow battery applications.
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