Introduction
On Tuesday, April 8th, HYIELD hosted a very interesting webinar “Converting Waste to Hydrogen – A Deep Dive into the HYIELD Technology”. The event gathered over 50 participants from various sectors including sustainability, energy, waste treatment, technology transfer, biotechnology, and engineering. Attendees included professors, students, researchers, directors, engineers, project managers, and procurement managers, among others.
About HYIELD
Overview of the Webinar
The webinar started with a project overview by Álvaro Sánchez (Magtel), the project’s co-coordinator. The main segment of the webinar featured HYIELD’s three key technologies:
- Gasification & Gas Cleaning – by Luis Sánchez (WtEnergy)
- Conversion Process: Luis explained how biogenic waste is transformed into hydrogen-rich syngas, emphasizing the environmental benefits and efficiency of this method compared to traditional approaches.
- Advantages: The presentation underscored the reduced emissions and higher yield of hydrogen, making it a promising solution for sustainable energy.
- WGS Membrane Reactor – by Igor Egaña (H2SITE)
- Mechanism: Igor detailed the workings of the membrane reactor, which achieves an impressive 99.97% purity in hydrogen production.
- Impact on Efficiency: The high purity level significantly boosts the efficiency of hydrogen utilization, making it a game-changer in the industry.
- Hydrogen Storage – by Axelle Gigou (Mincatec Energy)
- Storage Role: Axelle highlighted the critical role of storage in the hydrogen value chain, focusing on the advantages of metal hydride storage for industrial applications.
- Benefits: The presentation showcased the stability and safety of metal hydride storage, which is essential for large-scale hydrogen deployment.
CARMA-H2 Presentation
The webinar also featured CARMA-H2, HYIELD’s sibling project funded under the same call. Representing the project, there was Christian Kjølseth, who provided a brief yet impactful presentation on this project, outlining its contributions to the hydrogen ecosystem and future prospects.
Panel Discussion
The panel discussion addressed several pivotal questions:
- Scaling Challenges: Experts discussed the major hurdles in scaling hydrogen technology, including infrastructure and investment needs.
- Efficiency and Cost Comparison: The panel compared the efficiency and cost of various hydrogen production methods, highlighting the competitive edge of HYIELD’s technologies.
- Adoption Barriers in Europe: Key barriers such as regulatory challenges and market readiness were examined.
- High-Purity Hydrogen: Achieving consistent high-purity hydrogen from biogenic waste was identified as a critical goal.
- Future Steps: The discussion explored the next steps for advancing hydrogen technology beyond the current project.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Strategies for collaboration among governments, businesses, and researchers to accelerate the adoption of waste-to-hydrogen solutions were proposed.
The webinar ended with a short Q&A session, where a couple of attendees raised interesting questions. We encourage you to watch this, along with the full presentation, for a more complete understanding.
You can access the full recording here and the presentations here:
Writer: Sofiia Savchenko
Editorial: Lucía Salinas
April, 2025
