HADES

A key impediment to the switch from fossil-fuels towards renewable energy is the intermittency of renewables, which necessitates a hybrid energy solution combining renewable sources with chemical storage, like highly efficient power-to-chemical technologies (e.g. electrolysis). While power-to-hydrogen is relatively mature, costs related to hydrogen storage and distribution are making technologies like ammonia cracking attractive. The HADES consortium is composed of 3 German and 5 French partners, with a local coordinator in each country and work package leaders equally split between both countries. The partners bring complementary expertise to cover the work program (manufacture and analysis chain), from the synthesis of materials (ICGM, IMN, EIFER), the definition of new catalysts combinations and associated mechanisms (IC2MP, IMN, KIT, DLR), the shaping/characterizations of cells (DLR, EIFER, ICGM, IMN, FEMTO), markets and environment (EDF, KIT, EIFER). The German and French partners involved in the HADES project commit themselves to pave the way for the future market uptake of green H2 from NH3 decomposition by developing an efficient and cost-effective CO2 free technology based on a planar reactor. HADES aims to enable the one-step electrocatalytic NH3 cracking, H2 compression and purification from renewable electricity through an electrochemical protonic ceramic reactor. The project, focused on eight objectives, will promote the process-intensification advantages of electrochemical processes, membrane reactors, and advanced catalysis to set-up a highly efficient, compact, and modular technology. The first objective is to decipher the NH3 decomposition mechanisms to select the appropriate cell materials. To build the reactor, metal-supported and cermet-supported protonic ceramic cells (MS-PCC and CS-PCC) will be compared to reduce the capital expenses of the technology. The cells manufacture will be supported by modelling activities to optimize the microstructure, but also to target specific operation conditions to lower the operational expenditures. It will also provide recommendations for process integration and application cases. Based on economics, environmental, social, regulatory and safety studies, HADES will identify the market needs for H2 from NH3 cracking, provide recommendations to policymakers, and highlight its benefits compared to other technologies. The main outcome of the HADES project will be a reactor validated at lab-scale for the implementation of renewable compressed hydrogen from ammonia cracking. By providing this additional hydrogen supply chain, the HADES technology can accelerate the deployment of the hydrogen economy in Europe. Taking advantage of existing Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells progress, a ten-year development step is enough to climb the TRL levels to reach market entrance, and small systems (1 MW) would be available by 2040. Thus, it will offer an avenue for the supply and development of hydrogen-consuming technologies (e-fuels production) and industries (steel, chemistry), as well as grid stabilization due to inherent fluctuations in renewable energy sources, recommendation of operating conditions and implementation characteristics for industrial users, plus an increase of social acceptance of Power-to-X technologies (PtX). Finally, HADES will provide guidance of improvement potentials related to identified social impacts and starting points for follow-up inter- / trans-disciplinary research projects to accelerate market deployment of the technology.