Found expects to market this low-emission energy source to heavy industrial energy consumers.
Boston-based Found Energy has succeeded in producing 2 kW of continuous thermal energy from hydrogen in an experimental reactor using 1 kg of aluminum scrap as a fuel source.
The scrap is treated with a patented catalyst that causes it to release hydrogen particles contained in a water bath, which can be burned for thermal energy or stored in a fuel cell.
Once the reaction is complete and the heat and hydrogen have dissipated, aluminum hydroxide remains. Aluminum hydroxide is a chemical precursor to alumina, which is used by primary smelters to make pure aluminum metal.
Found hopes to market this low-emission energy source to heavy industrial energy consumers, such as aluminum smelters, long-haul trucks and ocean liners, all of which are powered by petroleum products that leave a larger carbon footprint.Found's process focuses on the use of hard-to-recycle aluminum scrap, such as aluminum foil or zorba, a byproduct of automobile shredders.
The reactor, capable of producing electricity in the kilowatt range, is only the company's initial offering. Found plans to begin testing a model capable of producing electricity in the megawatt range in the third quarter. The average U.S. household consumed 886 kWh of electricity per month in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Canada-based GH Power has also been working on its own aluminum-hydrogen scrap reactor. The company has promised to build at least six reactors by the end of 2025, all ranging from 1 MW to 60 MW, according to a slide presentation last year.
GH has not provided Argus with updated information on operations in time for publication.
Although the production of hydrogen gas from aluminum scrap has been attempted for decades in research, advances in reaction maintenance and the recycling of catalysts for reuse have been the factors limiting commercial applications, an industry consultant told Argus.
News from https://www.worldenergytrade.com/
