ECLOSION Project
The main objective of the ECLOSION project is to create new materials, technologies and processes for the generation, storage and transport of renewable and indigenous hydrogen and biomethane.
This generation of energy vectors will be made from urban waste, agri-food, wastewater and sewage sludge, the objective is to provide new technological tools to the renewable energy sector, encouraging economic activity and the creation of qualified employment.
The project also proposes the development of energy optimization tools, which implies designing eco-efficient, flexible and intelligent energy systems from source to consumption point. This initiative is driven by a consortium of eight companies led by Aqualia which, together with FCC Medio Ambiente, CADE, Ghenova, Ariema, H2B2, Idecal and Nanomate, are embarking on a project that will last four years (2021-2024).
ECLOSION has a total budget of 6,602,498 euros and a grant of 4,451,374.85 euros from the MISSIONS SCIENCE AND INNOVATION 2021 call for proposals. This grant is subsidized by the CDTI with the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and funding from the European Union through the Next Generation EU program. This call finances pre-competitive research projects in cooperation, led by companies, to achieve:
– Relevant research that proposes solutions to cross-cutting and strategic challenges of society.
– Improve the knowledge and technology base on which Spanish companies rely to compete.
– Stimulate public-private cooperation.
ECLOSION is part of the Mission to promote safe, efficient and clean energy for the 21st century. The project will also favor the creation of 15 new highly qualified jobs, 10 of which are expected to be filled by women.
The research will be carried out in companies, laboratories and specially equipped infrastructures of the research organizations and in four development centers, the Waste Treatment Center of Valladolid, managed by FCC Medio Ambiente; and the wastewater treatment plants of Salamanca, Lleida and Jerez de la Frontera, managed by Aqualia.
ECLOSION seeks new models of green hydrogen production complementary to electrolysis with renewable energies, decoupled from the availability of high-quality water and integrated into a decarbonized energy model under the principles of circular economy and digitalization.
To overcome these challenges, the ECLOSION project is organized in 5 interrelated activities, with the sustainable production of biohydrogen and biomethane as a central element, always from an economically and environmentally sustainable point of view.
Activity 1 will take advantage of the energy content of wastewater to generate energy vectors (biohydrogen and biomethane) through bioelectrochemical processes. The wastewater will be conveniently regenerated for its use in electrolyzers to obtain high-quality hydrogen at reasonable costs. On the other hand, new and more efficient biological processes will be investigated for the generation and purification of biohydrogen and biomethane from the organic fraction of solid waste (FORSU), agro-food waste and sewage sludge.
Activity 2 proposes as a thermochemical treatment the catalyzed supercritical gasification of biowaste, sewage sludge and digestates with high organic matter content for the generation of a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. It is also proposed to investigate a high pressure storage system to take advantage of the process conditions.
Activity 3 is focused on the study of new processes and materials for the separation of gas mixtures produced with hydrogen, methane and/or carbon dioxide in their composition, in order to generate high-quality pure gases. In addition, options for the capture and integral valorization of carbon dioxide generated in all processes will be researched.
Activity 4 will focus on the storage, transport and transformation of the energy carriers (hydrogen and methane) generated in the rest of the processes. However, the technological options investigated (AEM and SOFC electrolyzers, fuel cells, hybrid supercapacitors, or hydrogen compression by means of hydrides) will be universally applicable to these vectors regardless of their generation process.
Finally, Activity 5 will address aspects of process integration in a transversal way, by means of simulation with digital twins and also experimentally.
