UK: £5 million for research into hydrogen production from biomass

The UK government has launched the new Hydrogen BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) Innovation Programme to support the development of new technologies that will generate hydrogen from biomass and waste.

The BECCS process is envisaged to have a dual role in producing hydrogen while at the same time offering the ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, as that absorbed during the growth of the biomass and the organic content found in waste can then be permanently removed from the atmosphere using carbon capture technologies.

Such technologies thus have a potential key role to play in the UK’s – and other countries’ – drives to net-zero emissions.

“This innovative technology offers incredible potential for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, crucial to reaching our net-zero goals,” says Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands.

“This government funding will help support the development of this new technology in the UK, boosting green jobs and investment while slashing carbon emissions.”

In this first phase, up to £250,000 ($340,000) per project is available for companies and organisations to develop plans and demonstrate the feasibility of their proposed innovations. This will then be followed with a second phase with further funding to support the most promising phase 1 projects to demonstration.

Technology scope

The technology scope is split into three categories:

1. Feedstock pre-processing will support the development of low cost, energy and material efficient technologies to optimise biomass and waste feedstocks for gasification. Example technologies are pelletising, mechanical sorting and thermal treatment.
2. Gasification components is focussed on components for improving syngas quality and upgrading for hydrogen generation. Examples encompass syngas treatments and gasifier integrated technologies.
3. Novel biohydrogen technologies covers the development of technologies for hydrogen production from biogenic feedstocks which can be combined with carbon capture. Examples include dark and photo fermentation, wastewater treatment (e.g. for ammonia recovery and conversion to hydrogen), steam methane reforming of biogas and pyrolysis.

Requirements for funding include the use of waste feedstocks with at least 25% content by the energy of biogenic waste and the intrinsic linking of carbon capture technologies to the hydrogen production process.

The government expects to award the phase 1 contracts in May for a six-month project timeline.

The phase 2 demonstrations are scheduled to start in March 2023 and to run for two years to the end of March 2025.