Fundacion Hidrogeno Santa Cruz (Argentina)
AccaGen cooperated with the “Fundacion Hidrogeno Santa Cruz”, Pico Truncado, Patagonia (Argentina) in the framework of the project for the realization of “Planta Experimental de Hidrogeno” (experimental hydrogen plant). The project aims at developing a sustainable hydrogen economy in the Southern part of Argentina, province of Santa Cruz (Patagonia) with the exploitation of the renewable energy resources available in the region (mainly wind) to generate hydrogen and oxygen through water electrolysis. The facility will include high-tech laboratories for research and development of the various applications of hydrogen and oxygen produced in the electrolyser.
Hydrogen will be mainly used as clean fuel in an innovative concept of mixing hydrogen with natural gas in conventional (revamped) internal combustion engines. This straightforward idea will allow an immediate implementation and use of hydrogen in mobile applications thanks to the simple modifications required in the conventional engines. Existing vehicles will be retained thus avoiding an expensive and complete replacement of the available technology leading to time and economic constraints. Oxygen will be used in several industrial applications with a target to be approved for medical use in the coming future and be used in the hospitals of the region.
The innovative touch of the project, however, is not “limited” to this, but will also envisage a high heat integration for a maximum exploitation of the energy available from the renewable source. The heat generated in the electrolysis process is in fact transferred, through a closed circuit, to several greenhouses to improve their performance and optimize the overall system efficiency.
AccaGen scope of supply in the above project is the delivery of one 100 Nm3/h @ 10 bar electrolyser including the purification section for both hydrogen and oxygen. Both gases are delivered with a purity of 99.999% after having been treated in a de-oxo / de-hydro reactor to remove the smallest traces of contaminants.
Most importantly, AccaGen contributed to the success of the project with its customized approach in electrolyser design, allowing a full integration of the plant into the overall system. Flexibility in the plant design and customized engineering solutions are the benefits offered by AccaGen in the realization of a successful project of this kind.
