About
Prometeo
Prometeo is a European Horizon 2020 project that aims to design, construct and test an innovative prototype to produce renewable hydrogen from solar power.
The Prometeo’s prototype is based on high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) coupled with an innovative heat storage system. The storage system will optimize the use of intermittent solar heat in hydrogen production.
The prototype will be designed to meet end-users’ needs for renewable hydrogen in different industrial sectors: injection of hydrogen into the gas grid (SNAM, Italy), chemical storage of renewable electricity (Capital Energy, Spain) and use of hydrogen for ammonia and fertiliser production (Stamicarbon, the Netherlands).
The project will last three and a half-years and it is supported by funding of € 2.5 million from the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). The final goal of Prometeo is to move a step forward in the use of renewable hydrogen for industrial decarbonization by 2030.
Consortium
The Consortium pools a set of complementary knowledge and expertise along the hydrogen value chain, including R&D, technological innovation and industry know-how.
In the consortium, the partners have both technical roles and facilitating roles during the project execution. FBK and EPFL will facilitate technical cooperation between SOLIDpower (SOE stack supplier) with the process integrator Next Chem.
ENEA and IMDEA Energy will facilitate technical cooperation between Next Chem and the three end-users: Capital Energy (connection with RES technologies and utility grid), SNAM (connection with gas grid) and Stamicarbon (connection with Chemical Industry).
Basic components
SME specialised in the manufacture and industrialization of Solid Oxide Cells.
Via ai Manfredi 24 – Frazione Ciré
38057 Pergine Valsugana (TN)
Italy
SolydEra S.p.A.
Innovation Center
SolydEra S.p.A. (SE) is a dynamic SME specialized in high-temperature electroceramic applications for energy and gas conversion. SE develops and engineers high temperature membrane reactors, with historical focus on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and increasingly on Solid Oxide Electrolyzers.
Role in PROMETEO: SE is in charge of the design, construction, qualification and delivery of a 25kW SOE stackbox consisting of a large area stack in an insulated box with all connections to be integrated in the SOE prototype. SE supports NC in the integration of the stackbox in the PROMETEO system including control and safety, and commissioning.
University experienced in the characterization and modelling of electrolyzer stacks.
Rue de l’industrie 17
Case Postale 440
CH-1951 Sion
(Switzerland)
Tel: +41 (0)21 695 8263
EPFL
STI - Faculty of Engineering Sciences
IGM - Mechanical Engineering Institute
GEM - Group of Energy Materials
EPFL is one of Europe’s leading polytechnical research and education Institutions. The GEM team conducts R&D on materials and components of high temperature Solid Oxide technology, for both fuel cell and electrolysis operations. GEM is an interdisciplinary team, covering mechanical engineering, chemistry, material sciences and physics.
Role in PROMETEO: EPFL-GEM performs component sizing and operating strategy. It leads the activities on SOE stack characterization with the SOE addressing dynamic solar input. It leads LCA/LCC activities of the up-scaled Solar SOE system using ISO14040 and 14044.
Research center specialised in R&D support for the construction of integrated energy systems.
FBK – Fondazione Bruno Kessler
Sustainable Energy Center
Sustainable Energy (SE) is FBK’ s centre for energy research, innovation and outreach. SE supports the development and adoption of low-carbon solutions for the production, distribution and storage of renewable energy. SE conducts R&D on sector coupling, usage of new energy vectors and innovative storage solutions as enablers of the clean energy transition.
Role in PROMETEO: FBK-SE leads the engineering of the system design, the characterization of upstream and downstream components, the modelling of dynamic and transient for the system definition and for developing the control strategy. FBK-SE leads the communication and dissemination activities of the project.
Process integration
Engineering company dedicated to new technology development in the field of green chemistry and energy.
NextChem
Maire Tecnimont for Energy Transition
NextChem (NC) is an engineering and construction company that is part of the Maire Tecnimont Group, a leading world player in natural resources processing industries. NC is specialised in green chemistry and technologies for the energy transition, with strong experience in the development of innovative pilot plants.
Role in PROMETEO: NC leads the system integration and prototyping activities and it supports the partners in the detailed design and construction of the systems. It contributes to the experimental validation, in the commissioning of the prototype. NC participates in the dissemination, impact and exploitation activities.
R&D center specialised in high-temperature solar concentration systems, electrochemical and thermal energy storage.
Avda. Ramón de la Sagra, 3
Parque Tecnológico de Móstoles
E-28935 Móstoles, Madrid
(Spain)
Tel.: +34 91 737 11 20
iMdea energy
IMDEA Initiative
IMDEA Energy (IMDEA) is one of 7 independent R&D centres that form a research initiative driven by the regional government of the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain. IMDEA focuses its research on high-temperature solar concentration systems, the sustainable production of fuels, electrochemical and thermal energy storage coupled to renewable energy.
Role in PROMETEO: IMDEA leads the system modelling activities by providing expertise on flowsheeting and system analysis of renewable energy technologies. IMDEA is in charge of developing the tools and implementing the performance analysis for the static modelling of the energy system.
R&D organization specialised in solar-TES technology integrated with steam generator, heat transfer fluids for CSP applications.
ENEA Casaccia Research
SST – Center Solar Thermal and Thermodynamic Division
DTE – Energy Technologies Department
ENEA is the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic
Development, a public body aimed at research, technological innovation and the provision of advanced services to enterprises, public administration and citizens in the sectors of energy, the environment and sustainable economic development.
Role in PROMETEO: ENEA is the project coordinator. It works in the selection and characterization of basic components, in the process integration with CPS and it collaborates in the design, construction and operation of the prototype plant. It supports the dissemination and exploitation of project results.
End users
Large energy infrastructure company, operating the largest natural gas transmission network and storage capacity in Europe.
SNAM
Hydrogen Business Unit
SNAM is one of Europe’s main regulated gas companies and it is leader in the gas transport and storage sectors. It is the first in Europe for its transport network size ( 81.000 km of pipeline) and storage capacity (35 billion cubic meter). It has been building and managing technologically advanced infrastructure guaranteeing energy security for over 75 years.
Role in PROMETEO: SNAM is in charge of the analysis of regulations, standards and legal frameworks for operating hydrogen storage systems. It supports the techno-economic analysis of the system and the end-users’ cases for the injection of green hydrogen in the gas grid.
Large renewable energy projects promotion platform focused on off/on shore wind energy, biodiesel, PV and thermal solar energy.
Torre Serrano
C/ Marqués de Villamagna 3, Planta 5
28001, Madrid
(Spain)
Tel.: +34 91 401 77 44
Capital Energy
Energy Storage
Capital Energy (CE) is the biggest renewable energy projects promotion platform in Spain.
Capital Energy’s current portfolio includes 30 GW of wind and solar energy projects located in Spain and Portugal, 10 of which are on a ready-to-build stage (7.5 GW on wind farms and 3 GW on solar). CE wants to become a main character in the ecological transition of the economy, boosting green growth, innovation and an increased competition in the electricity market.
Role in PROMETEO: CE is involved in the design and study of end-user’s cases related to energy storage, in the modelling and integration of the prototype on site, and in the testing and validation of the system. CE supports the design of the up-scaling strategy and collaborates in dissemination and exploitation activities.
Large company, leader in the development of fertilizer technology and in the supply of services related to urea technology.
Stamicarbon
Maire Tecnimont
Stamicarbon, the licensing and IP center of Maire Tecnimont, is the global market leader in the
development and licensing of fertilizer technology and the supply of services to its customers related to urea technology. As the production of urea is inherently connected to the use of CO2, Stamicarbon is actively looking for alternatives for urea in a non-fossil fuel based economy.
Role in Prometeo: Stamicarbon is in charge of developing a business integrated view on the intermittent production of hydrogen for chemical (fertilizers) production. It also supports the creation of understanding on how to cope with intermittent power supply in order to produce hydrogen as a feedstock for a preferably stable chemical process.
Work Plan
The Prometeo project will run for 42-months, with a work plan consisting of eight Work Packages (WP).
Project Coordination and Management
will be implemented throughout the project duration.Engineering design process
will design the system prototype considering end-users’ requirements, technology offer and specifications of basic items (SOE stack, CS-TES, Steam Generator, BoP), integrated system’s requirements, engineering & scaling-up, regulatory, standard & legal framework.Design and characterization of basic components
will design, manufacture and characterise all the individual components of the system prototype.System modelling
will focus on system performance analysis through process optimization, static modelling of the energy system and dynamic modelling.System integration & prototyping
consists in the executive design, integration and on-site installation of the prototype (at least 25 kWe or 15 kgH2/day). The prototype will be assembled in a container and then installed on an end-user site where it will be connected to renewable heat and power sources.Experimental validation
will test the prototype for at least 1,000 hours under full-capacity operation ( 25 kWe or 15 kgH2 per day), partial load and hot stand-by, i.e. when the cell is kept at ≥ 650°C in case of power shortage (no PV production and/or utility grid off-peak conditions).Assessment & exploitation of results
will perform a techno-economic and sustainability assessment (LCA) of the prototype. An analysis of system up-scale and market deployment will consider three different end-uses with corresponding plant scales (from 1 to 100 MWe).Dissemination of results
will disseminate the project among relevant stakeholders and European citizens.