Organic H2 (Develop electrochemical hydrogen storage）

Organic H2, a Swedish hydrogen energy startup founded in 2023, develops advanced hydrogen storage technologies using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). This technology facilitates safe and efficient hydrogen storage and transportation, thereby supporting the broader adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy source.

Challenges: hydrogen storage

Hydrogen (H₂), the most abundant element in the universe, is not just a fundamental building block of stars—it's also a vital ingredient in the synthesis of ammonia. Production of ammonia plays a crucial role in producing a wide range of products we use on a daily basis, including fertilizers for crop nourishment and plastics for modern life.

Traditionally, the world has relied heavily on steam methane reforming (SMR) to produce over 60 million tons of hydrogen annually. However, this method comes with a significant environmental cost. It's an energy-intensive process that contributes approximately 2% to global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, releasing between 5 and 9 tons of CO₂ for every ton of hydrogen it generates.

There are cleaner paths to producing hydrogen, such as water electrolysis and methane pyrolysis.

Several obstacles hinder the widespread adoption of hydrogen technology. The primary challenges include the high costs associated with hydrogen storage and distribution due to its low density and explosive nature when stored as a pressurized gas or cryogenic liquid. Therefore, we must develop alternative strategies for hydrogen storage.

Organic H2 Technology

Organic H2 has developed a technology to use liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) to store and transport hydrogen in a safe manner. This technology uses an electrochemical cell to deprotonate proton donors on an anode. A proton-conductive membrane transports the released protons to a cathode, where they protonate LOHC. The protonated hydrogen carriers are stable and can be safely stored and transported. When needed, the protonated hydrogen carriers release hydrogen gas at a mild temperature under atmospheric pressure.

How Organic H2 stores hydrogen

The diagram below depicts Organic H2’s electrochemical device, which uses hydrogen carriers to store hydrogen.