Netherlands invests over $1 million in new powder-like hydrogen carrier technology
The Dutch government has awarded €1.1 million ($1.17 million) to Israeli startup Electriq Global (Electriq) to establish a hydrogen carrier production facility at the Port of Amsterdam.
PHOTO: 3D illustration of Electriq's powder hydrogen carrier manufacturing facility. Electriq
Storage firm Zenith Energy Terminals and an Israeli startup Electriq will build a production facility for a hydrogen carrier in the Port of Amsterdam.
The project has now received a €1.1 million grant from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the start-up body of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The operations are scheduled to begin in 2026, Electriq confirmed.
Electriq claims its powder-like hydrogen carrier is safer and more efficient than compressed or liquefied hydrogen. “Our breakthrough technology promises to significantly reduce production costs and drastically lower carbon footprint,” Dmitry Lisitsin, head of powder solutions at Electriq Global asserted.
This powder-like carrier will enable the storage and transportation of hydrogen at a lower cost and help the Port of Amsterdam achieve its goal of handling 1 million mt/year of hydrogen by 2030, the Port Authority said.
Need for organic hydrogen carriers
Apart from being a fuel with zero-emission potential, hydrogen is also the primary feedstock for alternative marine fuels such as ammonia and methanol. However, hydrogen's transportation and storage challenges have limited its use on a large scale and hindered global trade.
Hydrogen has a low volumetric energy density. It needs to be stored either in a compressed form at high pressure (350-700 bar) or in a cryogenic form at very low temperatures (−252.8°C) to ensure it does not escape into the atmosphere during transport. However, both processes are very expensive and tend to increase the hydrogen's overall transportation cost.
This conundrum is causing hydrogen producers and suppliers to develop effective methods for transporting hydrogen over long distances with minimal boil-off losses. Hydrogen carriers such as ammonia and methanol are tried-and-true methods for transporting hydrogen, while liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are also being studied.
PHOTO: Hydrogen is stored in a dry powder form instead of compressing or liquefying it, Electriq says. Electriq
Electriq's powder carrier compares well to LOHCs because of its inert chemical bonding and potential for long-term storage without boiling off. But unlike LOHCs, Electriq says its powder carrier can store hydrogen at ambient temperatures and has a high energy density.
To create the hydrogen carrier, Electriq reacts hydrogen gas with a chemical compound called potassium metaborate (KBO2) to produce a powder-like substance known as potassium borohydride (KBH4). The substance is transported in a box-like container. It is dehydrogenated, which involves mixing KBH4 and water to release hydrogen, resulting in KBO2 as a by-product.
Potassium borohydride is used in plastic production. It has been classed as a hazardous compound by chemists because it is toxic, highly flammable and reactive with water. However, Electriq claims that its powder carrier “will simply dissolve in seawater if it comes to a spill, decomposing into natural minerals that seawater contains.”
By Konica Bhatt
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