Development of Innovative Hydrogen Production Technology from Energy Carriers Based on Vanadium Alloy Membranes

Abstract

Five Japanese organisations are collaborating to produce a fast throughput, efficient hydrogen separation reactor based on vanadium alloy membranes, to help meet Japan's ambitious clean technology goals. Dr Chikashi Nishimura, from the Center for Green Research on Energy and Environmental Materials at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, is an expert metallurgist who manages and directs the project. He explains: 'Ammonia (NH3), which is a combination of nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H), is a great way of storing H, since its volumetric density is 45 percent greater than that of liquid hydrogen. Our membrane will enable pure hydrogen to be quickly extracted from decomposed gases of ammonia and other energy carriers at or near the point of use.' The project, which began in October 2014 and is due for completion in March 2020, aims to produce 3 m3 of hydrogen gas per hour from decomposed gas of NH3 or similar gases by the end of the project. Funding has been provided by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency under its 'Creating innovative fundamental technologies for the production and use of energy carriers from renewable energy' CREST funding stream.