The UPC opens the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant
Recently, the UPC opened the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant on the Diagonal-Besòs Campus. These cutting-edge facilities serve as a living lab to advance research and innovation in hydrogen technologies, a key energy vector in the transition towards decarbonisation. The Laboratory is also supporting industry and training activities.
Dec 07, 2023
Located within a 340 m2 space on the third floor of Building C on the Diagonal-Besòs campus, the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) develop new hydrogen-based technologies and provide technical support and durability testing to the industry. This scientific infrastructure is pioneering in Europe and acts as a showcase for hydrogen technology for both business and academia.
The Laboratory focuses on research in hydrogen production, compression, transport, storage and utilisation. Hydrogen and electricity used in the laboratory experiments are produced locally, sustainably and modularly by the hydrogen pilot plant installed on the roof of the same building. The laboratory has thus its own microgrid to optimise hydrogen and electricity production and consumption.
The initial capacity of the plant is over 13 kW of peak power with 24 solar panels, 5 kW of power for the laboratory's microgrid through fuel cells and a daily hydrogen production of 6 kg with a storage capacity of 17 kg at 300 bar.
In the future, the plant is expected to have a capacity to produce over 40 kW of peak power, 10 kW of power for the laboratory’s microgrid through fuel cells and a daily hydrogen production of 40 kg with a storage capacity of 34 kg at 300 bar.
4 test stations for small-scale equipment, ranging in order of watts.
4 test stations for medium-scale equipment, up to 1 kW.
4 test stations for medium/large-scale equipment, up to 10 kW each.
1 environmental chamber of 3×3 m2 for testing systems under extreme conditions (from –20°C to 70°C), with a maximum power of up to 100 kW.
This new space was made possible through the aid granted by the Department of Research and Universities to the project “Stage 3 Diagonal-Besòs Campus: laboratory facilities and equipment and research spaces”, with code IU16-016263.
The eligible budget for the hydrogen pilot plant was €2,224,950[CA1] , with the grant funding 50% of this amount (€1,112,475.50).
Held on 10 November, the inauguration ceremony was attended by the president of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès; the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the mayor of Sant Adrià de Besòs, Filo Cañete; the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo; and the vice-rector for Research, Jordi Llorca. It also featured speeches by researcher Maria Serra, director of the Specific Centre for Hydrogen Research (CER-H2), and researchers Attila Husar and Lluís Soler, assistant directors of the CER-H2.
"The country’s reindustrialisation must go hand in hand with a new energy model, and hydrogen plays a key role. We are inaugurating a benchmark, cutting-edge infrastructure that will contribute to the development of Catalonia’s green hydrogen ecosystem," said Aragonès. He added: "We are committed to transferring the knowledge from universities and research centres to the productive economy to increase competitiveness."
Rector Daniel Crespo explained that "it is a unique infrastructure in Spain and one of the few currently operational in the European Union, positioning Catalonia at the forefront of green hydrogen and energy transition." He also highlighted that "Barcelona and its metropolitan area thus increase the critical mass of projects and strengthen their position as a hub for the development of a low-carbon economy." The rector urged the president of the Government of Catalonia to continue trusting universities and investing resources as "it is an excellent national strategy". He concluded, "the UPC and universities in general multiply the impact of funds invested in them and create economic and social value."
Innovation and cutting-edge research hub
One of the key challenges of hydrogen technologies in the coming years is the decarbonisation of industry and transport. Facilities like this hydrogen pilot plant are crucial in advancing towards this goal.
In recent years, the UPC has raised around €6 million in funding for projects directly related to hydrogen. In 2022, it established the Specific Centre for Hydrogen Research (CER-H2), which brings together the University's research activity in this field, involving over 30 researchers across nine research groups. It is a leading centre that offers technological and research capacities for companies to explore new avenues of innovation in hydrogen technology, ranging from hydrogen production using renewable energies (green hydrogen) or combining emission capture (blue hydrogen) to storage, distribution and end uses in industry or transportation.
Developed through the hydrogen production pilot plant, some of the innovative projects at the CER-H2 include developing new storage systems for liquid hydrogen—transforming it into synthetic liquid fuels as zero-emission fuels for aircrafts—and creating bimetallic catalysts for green and blue hydrogen production. Also designing hydrogen fuel cells for hybrid electric vehicles or intelligent hydrogen combustion systems to decarbonise the glass, cement, steel and ceramic industries.
In addition, the Laboratory studies the use of hydrogen as a chemical product for ammonia production, aiming to produce it through green hydrogen without polluting emissions (currently, ammonia is mainly produced with grey hydrogen made from natural gas emitting greenhouse gases). Research also explores its use as a fertiliser or as a fuel for maritime transport.
