PROJECT FINAL REPORT - CORDIS...Project Final Report. “Advance Multi-Fuel reformer for Fuel Cell CHP Systems” Acronym: ReforCELL. Grant Agreement number: 278997 Period covered

Project Final Report. “Advance Multi-Fuel reformer for Fuel Cell CHP Systems” Acronym: ReforCELL. Grant Agreement number: 278997 Period covered From 01/02/2012 to 31/12/2015

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PROJECT FINAL REPORT

Publishable FCH JU Grant Agreement number: 278997

Project acronym: REFORCELL

Project title: Advanced Multi-Fuel Reformer for Fuel Cell CHP Systems Funding Scheme: Collaborative Projects Period covered: from 2012-02-01 to 2015-12-31 Name of the scientific representative of the project's co-ordinator1, Title and Organisation: Mr. Alberto Garcia Luis & Dr.José Luis Viviente

Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation

Tel: +34 946 430 850 Fax: +34 946 460 900 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Project website2 address: www.reforcell.eu

1 Usually the contact person of the coordinator as specified in Art. 8.1. of the grant agreement 2 The home page of the website should contain the generic European flag and the FCH JU logo which are available in electronic format at the Europa website (logo of the European flag: http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm; logo of the FCH JU, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/fch/index_en.cfm). The area of activity of the project should also be mentioned.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.reforcell.eu/

http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm



Content

4.1. Final publishable summary report ........................................................................................... 3

4.1.1. Executive summary......................................................................................................... 3

4.1.2. Project context and objectives ....................................................................................... 4

4.1.3. Main S&T results/foregrounds ....................................................................................... 8 4.1.3.1. Industrial specification of Fuel Cell CHP-System .................................................. 8 4.1.3.2. Novel catalytic materials ..................................................................................... 11 4.1.3.3. Membranes development ................................................................................... 14 4.1.3.4. Lab-scale ATR-CMR fuel reformer ...................................................................... 18 4.1.3.5. Design and manufacturing of novel ATR Reformer ............................................. 22 4.1.3.6. Integration and validation in CHP system ........................................................... 25 4.1.3.7. LCA and safety analysis ..................................................................................... 29

4.1.4. Potential impact ............................................................................................................ 30

4.1.5. Project public website and contact .............................................................................. 36

4.2. Use and dissemination of foreground ................................................................................... 38

4.3. Report on societal implications ............................................................................................. 54



4.1. Final publishable summary report 4.1.1. Executive summary ReforCELL is a 47 months project focussing on developing a high efficient PEM fuel cell micro Combined Heat and Power cogeneration system (net energy efficiency > 42% and overall efficiency > 90%) based on a novel, more efficient and cheaper hydrogen reformer production unit together to the new design of the subcomponent for the BoP. The main focus of ReforCELL is to develop a new catalytic membrane reformer for pure hydrogen production (5 Nm3/h) in order to intensify the hydrogen production process through the integration of reforming and hydrogen purification in one single unit. The novel reactor will be more efficient than the state-of-the-art technology due to an optimal design aimed at circumventing mass and heat transfer resistances. Besides, the design and optimization of the subcomponents for the BoP has been also addressed. The project brings together 11 partners covering the whole value chain, ranging from catalyst and membrane developers, reactor and system (BoP) developers, stack developers, service providers and end users. Novel catalyst and membrane reactors for ATR membrane reactor: Novel catalyst and membrane reactors for ATR membrane reactor has been developed in the frame of ReforCELL (TRL 4). Lower temperature (600 °C) reforming catalyst Ru based, supported on Ceria/Zirconia, has been developed achieving a good activity and long-term stability compared to the Nickel based commercial catalysts at high temperature (800 °C). Moreover fluidization regime allowed to prevent formation of hot spots increasing its life time. A final 2.5 kg batch of catalyst and an additional batch of 7 kg of inert filler, both with a defined particle size, were produced for the pilot prototype. Micro-channel configured membrane module with channels in the feed section and porous stainless steel in the permeate section have been developed. Integrated membrane reformer experiments have been performed using a commercial Ni-based catalyst and the Ru/Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 reforming catalyst as developed by Hybrid Catalysis in the project. Compared to the conventional pack-bed reactor, which results in an equilibrium methane conversion below 40%, the continuous hydrogen removal through the Pd77Ag23 membrane shifts the equilibrium and therefore a higher methane conversion can be obtained. At W/F ratio of 27 gcath/molCH4 (GHSV = 6000 h-1), a methane conversion >95% and a H2 production rate of 4.5 Nm3·m-2·h-1 was obtained at 550 C and a feed pressure of 6 bar. In addition, Pd-based membranes by direct deposition of thin dense metal layers (< 5 µm) onto porous ceramic and metallic tubular supports by simultaneous ELP have been developed. Experimental tests on H2 permeance and H2/N2 ideal selectivity pointed out performances over both the project and DoE targets. For the ceramic one, a H2 permeance of ~3 x 10-6 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and H2/N2 ideal selectivity of ~10000 has been obtained at 400 °C; while for the metallic supported, even after 1200 h, the H2/N2 ideal selectivity has been >150000 with a H2 permeance ~9 x 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 at 400 °C at lab-scale. However, the prepared Pd-Ag membranes showed a decrease of selectivity after prolonged operation at at 600 ºC due to defect formation in the membrane. Membranes were stable when working < 525 ºC. Membrane reactor a lab-scale: A fluidized bed multi-membrane reactor (for testing of 5 membranes) was designed and constructed by TU/e for SMR/ATR of methane at different operating conditions (p, T). First, membrane- catalyst interaction and integration strategies for the different components (i.e. sealing) were investigated. Then, membranes by TECNALIA have been integrated in membrane reactors in fluidized conditions



showing that equilibrium conditions can be achieved with hydrogen recovery in the order of 30% with a single membrane (TRL 4). Experimental results were used to validate a fluidized bed membrane reactor model allowing the overall membrane reformer design and its main characteristic. Additionally, new sealing techniques have been studied for ceramic supported membranes. Design and manufacturing of novel ATR reformer: An original design of ATR membrane reactor has been developed. The design of the reactor employs 15 membranes with a total 0.18 m2 of membrane area. The reactor is designed for operating at 8 bara at 600 °C with a maximum production capacity of 5 Nm3/h and capable to modulate to a minimum output of 1.5 Nm3/h of hydrogen. The novel fuel processor module was built using the membrane reactor and all needed balance of plant automated and controlled by PLC. The prototype was tested for ca. 220 hours. During the testing, the ATR reactor operated stable and reached a production with a yield of 1.7 Nm3 of H2 per Nm3 of CH4 feed. An ad-hoc model simulates the performance of the fluidized bed membrane reactor. The model can be used for calculation of membrane area and to predict the influence of different operating variables. Integration and validation in the CHP system: Main achievements in the frame of the system integration have been the following: Fuel cell relevant core components have been selected. A set of operating conditions

relevant for the system and application considered have been defined, testing a short stack with these conditions to dimension the final fuel cell stack prototype to be integrated in the final system. This prototype has been manufactured, and tested before the installation into the CHP system.

A reference case to benchmark the performances and costs of the innovative system have been define, then two different membrane reactor lay-out were investigated: one with a sweep flow at the permeate side the other with a vacuum pump. Finally this two layout have been investigated with biogas as fuel feeding.

The selection and design of components and of the full system have been carried out taking into account the compatibility of main magnitudes (pressure, temperature…) and materials in the system, as well as costs. ATR and fuel cell stack interface and the whole system control strategy have been defined;

Size scale up has been assessed. Technical feasibility for sizes up to 50 kWe has been verified for the main system parts (ATR, fuel cell stack, BoP) and the final specific cost (€/kW) of the whole system has been evaluated. Finally, flexibility and marketable size have been assessed.

4.1.2. Project context and objectives Stationary fuel cells offer a clean and efficient source of electricity in systems ranging from 1 kW up to 1 MW or more. With appropriate fuel processing technology, fuel cells are able to tap into established or accessible sources of fuels such as natural gas but also various other fuels including biofuels and bio-gases. With cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP), efficiencies improve dramatically from 30–50 % up to as high as 80-90 % with significant primary energy savings. The application off domestic micro-CHP demonstrates (see Figure 1) that a minimum of 15% extra primary energy is required for the traditional supply when compared to the fuel cell m-CHP system. In spite of these demonstrated benefits, cost and reliability issues make the technologies’ long-term potential difficult to predict. In order to reduce costs and increase the reliability of the technology, work must be done on fuel processing design and system optimization.



Figure 1. Energy flow diagram of a energy –efficient single-family home using a) fuel cell (CHP) system and b) electricity from an efficient combined cycle power plant (grid distribution losses not included) and additional heat from condensing boiler. ReforCELL aims at developing a high efficient PEM fuel cell micro Combined Heat and Power cogeneration system (net energy efficiency > 42% and overall efficiency > 90%) based on a novel, more efficient and cheaper hydrogen reformer production unit together to the new design of the subcomponent for the BoP. This new high efficient PEM fuel cell mCHP system is based on: The design, construction and testing of an advanced catalytic membrane reactor for pure

hydrogen production (5 Nm3/h) from reforming. The reactor components (catalyst, membranes, heat management etc.) were deeply investigated and optimized. The novel reactor is more efficient than the state-of-the-art technology due to an optimal design aimed at circumventing mass and heat transfer resistances.

The design and optimization of the subcomponents (BoP) for the integration of the membrane reformer to the fuel cell stack.

The main idea of ReforCELL was to apply the concept of process intensification in the production of hydrogen. ReforCELL develops a novel more efficient and cheaper membrane reactor by intensifying the process of hydrogen production through the integration of reforming and purification in one single unit. While traditional reformers includes several steps for producing H2 with enough quality to feed the fuel cell stack (see Figure 2), the new concept addressed in ReforCELL reduces this process to one step (Catalytic Membrane Reactor, see Figure 3). In addition, there is a reduction of the other components in the reformer (heat exchangers) and in the BoP (auxiliary elements) when integrating the membrane reformer to the stack and building up the m-CHP system. In addition, there is a reduction of the reforming temperature.

Fuel cell CHP

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Figure 2. Layout of PEM m-CHP unit using traditional reforming (TR) for fuel processing

Figure 3. Layout of PEM m-CHP unit using membrane reformer (MR) for fuel processing

This general objective is directly related to the development of a novel catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) for hydrogen production with:



Improved performance (high conversion at low temperature for the autothermal reforming

reaction) Enhanced efficiency (reduction of the energy consumption) Long durability under CHP system working conditions Clean environmental operating conditions (CO2 emissions reduced from conventional

reformer). and including a good recyclability of its individual components and safety aspects for its

integration in domestic CHP systems. The technical objectives needed to achieve these goals with the novel multi-fuel processor (based in CMR) were the following: Develop an advanced catalyst able to catalyse different reforming reactions under moderate

(<700ºC) conditions and resistant to sulphur compounds and coke formation and at reduced cost.

Develop new hydrogen permeable membrane materials with improved separation properties, long durability, and with reduced cost, to be used under reactive conditions.

To assess the large scale production of the membrane developed. Understand the fundamental physico-chemical mechanisms and the relationship between

structure/property/performance and manufacturing process in membranes and catalysts, in order to achieve radical improvements in membrane reactors.

To design, model and build up novel more efficient (e.g. reducing the number of steps) multi-fuel catalytic membrane reactor configurations based on the new membranes and catalysts for small-scale pure hydrogen production.

To validate the new membrane reactor configurations, and design a semi-industrial Autothermal Reforming (ATR) prototype for pure hydrogen production.

To improve the cost efficiency of membrane reactors by increasing their performance, decreasing the raw materials consumption and the associated energy losses.

Other technical objectives were related to the integration and validation of the multi-fuel reformer into the PEM fuel cell CHP system: To design the optimum CHP system (aided by simulation tools) in order to achieve a

complete system able to achieve the targets in performance and cost. To test the reliability of the novel reactor with a Fuel Cell CHP system To assess the health, safety and environmental impact of the system developed, including a

complete Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), of the developed system. The ReforCELL work plan consisted on activities related to the whole product chain: i.e. development of materials/components (membranes, supports, seals, catalyst...) through integration/validation at lab-scale, until development/validation of pilot scale ATR-CMR and the proof of concept / validation of the new PEM fuel cell m-CHP system.. For a maximum impact on the European industry this research, covering the complete value chain of micro-CHP fuel cell systems, can only be carried out with a multidisciplinary and complementary team having the right expertise, including top level European Research Institutes and Universities (6 RES) working together with representative top industries (4 SME and 1 IND) in different sectors (from materials to micro-CHP developers). The ReforCELL Project has been funded under Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. The Project started the 1st of February of 2012 and it has run for 47 months.



4.1.3. Main S&T results/foregrounds 4.1.3.1. Industrial specification of Fuel Cell CHP-System One of the first steps in ReforCELL was the assessment of the requirements for the introduction of the novel PEM fuel cell m-CHP system, including the innovative multi-fuel processor, in the market. Therefore, state-of-the-art reactors, PEMFC, CHP systems were identified and in-deep assessment of the components and process parameters was carried out. According to the study the typical subsystems in this kind of systems are the following: Desulphurizer fuel cells fuel processor inverter BOP Controller

The main requirements on the subsystems addressed in the project are discussed hereafter. The fuel processor must be suitable for supplying pure H2 or syngas of adequate quality for feeding the stacks involved. However, there are few commercial fuel processors having the size of interest for the project. In addition, they are very expensive due to also the use of precious metal (palladium, platinum,…). The BoP includes all the remaining components, such as the demineraliser, pumps, valves, etc. For reasons connected to reproducibility, cost and quality, it is essential to use commercial components and not to develop them or require suppliers to develop them ad hoc. Reference systems in the market use fuel cells with polymer membranes (LT-PEM and HT-PEM) as well as ceramic ones (SOFC). Many of the available systems have been found within the CALLUX project. Table 1 summarizes systems based on fuel cell already available in the market, or near to commercialization. Table 1. m-CHP: state of the art.

Who When FC type Costs (€) Performance (Kw el/th)

Electrical efficiency

Total efficiency(*)

CFC Limited Commercial SOFC 29000 1.5/0.0 60 60

ENEOS Commercial SOFC 25000 0.7/0.7 45 87 ELCORE 2013 HT-PEM 9000 0.3/0.6 32.5 98 HEXIS 2013 SOFC --- 1.0/1.8 35 95 BAXI 2014 LT-PEM 14000 1.0/1.8 32 91

Vaillant 2015 SOFC --- 1.0/2.0 25 90 (*) Strongly dependent on the returning temperature of thermal vector fluid for heat recovery The size of most of the available systems are not directly comparable to the one developed within the ReforCELL project. These systems have an electrical production of around 1 kWe, while in ReforCELL the objective was to produce 5kWe. Nevertheless, the evaluation of these systems was a good guideline to define the context in which the ReforCELL is being developed and to understand the possibilities of its commercial success. It is necessary to identify the market where a product should be introduced to evaluate correctly the industrial needs of this product. The energy market is very diverse and it can change greatly



depending on the country taken into consideration. The following variables could be considered for the analysis (which could change from country to country): Government grants; Cost of electricity; Cost of natural gas; Standards and regulations; Average consumption of electric energy per capita; Average consumption of domestic hot water per capita; Period of heating and consumption per m2. Average dwelling size;

However, government grants of each country have not been considered in order to perform an analysis that could be applied in all countries. The investigation has been performed taking into account 4 countries as sample representatives of the different European areas: Italy, The United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands. Data shown in Table 2 are relevant to the countries considered for the evaluation. Table 2. Consumption and average energy costs.

IT UK DE NL Standard electrical consumption per family per year kWh 3400 3400 3400 3900

Thermal consumption for heating average single family dwelling kWh 14000 18000 18000 17000

Natural gas price €/kWh 0.0831 0.0465 0.0615 0.0772 Electrical power price buy €/kWh 0.2164 0.1676 0.2781 0.2202 Average boiler efficiency for hot water and heating %_LHV 90 90 90 90

ReforCELL system has been compared with Stirling engines and internal combustion reciprocating engines (i.c.r.e) for the correct evaluation of the performances when having it in the market. Parameters such powers, cost, maintenance and payback time have been considered. Table 3 describes some main features of the systems that have been taken into account. Table 3. Comparison of the features of the various CHP.

ReforCELL Stirling i.c.r.e. Electric power produced 5 kW 1 kW 20 kW Heat power produced 5.7 kW 6 kW 47.5 kW Electrical efficiency 42% 14% 28.6% Total efficiency 90% 96% 90% Decibel <70 46 70 water out T >60°C 60 – 80 °C 86 °C partialisation 25% - 100% 20% - 100% 50% - 100%

These kinds of systems have maximum payback when all of the electrical and heat energy produced is used. It is important that they operate as many hours per year as possible. Moreover, as efficiency is normally higher when working at full capacity rather than with reduced loads, full power cogenerator has been always considered for the analysis. When working a full capacity using the whole heat and electricity production, the installation must supply different family-dwellings and include a back-up boiler. Any other use, for example at partial



load or with standstill periods due to lack of necessity or for periodic maintenance, leads inevitably to a longer payback times. Due to the great difference between the purchase cost and that of the sale of electric energy, the system is only interesting if inserted into a context in which all of the current produced is used. Therefore 8500 total operating hours per year have been considered, with a standstill period for routine maintenance of about 250 hours. The result has been a heating season of 182 days, corresponding to 4,368 operating hours and 4,132 summer operating hours. This is the configuration that allows maximum payback, even if Stirling engines and the i.c.r.e. probably never work in these conditions. I.c.r.e. in particular require an ordinary maintenance every 1,000, 1,500 hours. The cost for boiler maintenance have been also considered which, for wall-hung boilers, is about 100 € per family. With reference to residences and considering the use of the complete electricity and heat production, it has been seen that buildings with more than 14 dwellings have the best size for the introduction of the ReforCELL system. The proposed configuration can cover the yearly electricity requirements by also using the recovered heat. Logically, the back-up boiler is required, especially for winter heating requirements, as well as a cylinder for heat storage. The potential saving can vary from 4900 to 8900 €/year depending on the reference country. To recover the total heat produced during the summer in order to increase yearly savings, the Stirling engines require a number of dwellings that can be compared with the ReforCELL system. At this point, they also require a back-up boiler and cylinder for heat storage. In this case, the yearly saving varies between 1,170 and 2,030 € according to the countries considered in this study. Instead, i.c.r.e. systems can satisfy 100 dwellings, requiring back-up boiler and cylinder for heat storage. In this case, the yearly saving can be around 19,700 and 35,600€ depending on the sample country. Table 4 summarizes data collected specifically from the cogenerators. Table 4. Summary of economic comparison.

ReforCELL Stirling Endothermic kWe 5 1 20 kWt 5.7 6 47,5 El. Eff. 42 14 28.6 Tot. Eff. >90 96 90 Decibel < 70 46 70 water out T > 60°C 60-80°C 86 partialisation 50-100% 20-100% 50-100% Families served 14 14 99 Plant cost < 35000€ 7-8000 30-40.000 kWe cost 7000 7500 1750 Back up boiler Yes Yes Yes Accumulator Yes, 2000 litres Yes, 2000 litres Yes, 5000 litres Cost of yearly routine maintenance <1000 € 2000€ / 5 years 0.03-4 €/kWe Yearly saving without maintenance 4900 - 8900 * 1170 - 2030 19700 - 35660 Payback time without maintenance 4-8 years 4-7 years 1-2 years Real yearly saving 3900 - 7900 770 - 1630 13700 - 29660 Real payback time 5 - 9 5 - 10 2 - 3 Real yearly family saving 280-560* 55-115 140-300

*depends on the country, the maintenance costs must also be removed From Table 1 it is possible to understand that the i.c.r.e. is the most attractive for the final user in terms of family investment and payback time. However, they have a size limit, which is generally over 20 kWe. The necessity to install them in large residential complexes with a large number of families therefore limits diffusion. As the Stirling engines are much smaller, they can be potentially used widely. However, they have higher costs and long pay back times.



This analysis shows how the ReforCELL system is potentially more competitive, also when compared with more traditional cogeneration systems as long as maintenance costs are kept low, below 1000€/year, and have a long life time, with performance that remains stable for 10 years. Thus, duration and maintenance are fundamental for the success of the system being developed within the project. The features that the m-CHP system developed in ReforCELL should have in order to be industrially attractive are shown in Table 5. Table 5. ReforCELL final features.

CHP target Production costs €/ kWe 5000 Electrical efficiency % 42 Total efficiency % 90 Duration years 10 Maintenance per year 1 starting time hours 3 Modularity % 50 - 100 % of recycle >50 CO content < 200 ppm Conversion n.a. Investment cost 1 M€ Catalyst lifetime >10 years Membrane lifetime >10 years

4.1.3.2. Novel catalytic materials A novel ruthenium based ATR catalyst consisting of 2% ruthenium on a ceria zirconia support was developed. The synthesis of the catalyst consists of a sequential procedure where first the ceria-zirconia support, having the overall formula Ce0.75Zr0.25O2, is prepared. This support is then fractionized to the desired particle size and subsequently loaded with the active ruthenium metal. Initial tests have shown that controlled precipitation gives the best result for the support in terms of surface area and particle size. A set of different support particle sizes was sent to TU/e for testing of the fluidization behaviour in a fluidized bed reactor. The tests showed stable fluidization behaviour for the different particle sizes. In addition to the support an inert material having the same bulk density and particle size as the support was sent to TU/e. Fluidization tests showed that there was no separation of the support and inert filler under fluidization conditions. From the tests the fraction having a particle size of 125-250 µm was chosen as the most interesting candidate for the pilot scale reactor. The catalyst preparation was optimized for production on kilogram scale using a 10 L batch reactor (Figure 4), and a 0.5 kg batch of the catalyst having a particle size of 125-250 µm was prepared.



Figure 4. 10 L double walled glass reactor used for support synthesis and loading of the ruthenium onto the support. XRD analysis of the Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 support shows that the material exhibits the cubic structure of the ceria. The absence of monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia phases, when using the co-precipitation methods, indicates that the zirconium is incorporated into the ceria structure (Figure 5). The average crystallite size of 30 nm as derived from the line broadening is in accordance with the high resolution TEM images of the material. From the XRD and physisorption there is no difference between the materials made on laboratory or kilogram scale. This shows that the support was successfully prepared at kilogram scale. The high BET surface area of ~90 m2/g is a direct result of the small crystallite size as seen in the XRD and TEM measurements.

Figure 5. XRD diffractogram of the support prepared via different methods (left) and comparison of small and large scale preparation (right). The ruthenium was loaded onto the support via controlled precipitation. This technique combines a good dispersion with the possibility of upscaling whereas incipient wetness has a poor dispersion and surfactant assisted routes are more difficult to scale up. The ruthenium load of 2% was



confirmed by XPS analysis of the catalyst. Both XRD and N2 physisorption did not show large changes in the material after the ruthenium loading (Figure 6), which shows that the original structure of the support has been preserved during the loading.

Figure 6. Nitrogen physisorption (left) and XRD (right) of the ruthenium based low temperature ATR catalyst. The new catalyst was tested for its performance in a custom built lab scale reactor. During the test the conditions were varied to test the performance of the catalyst under the various conditions as can be expected in the pilot plant reactor. Figure 7 gives an overview of the performance of the ruthenium based ATR catalyst both under SMR and ATR conditions.

Figure 7. Hydrogen production under various conditions during a 360 hour test run of the low temperature reforming catalyst.



The graph shows that the H2 production over the catalyst is stable under the various SMR and ATR conditions, and that the catalyst operates at the desired low temperature window of 500 – 600oC. Cold isostatic pressing followed by crushing and sieving the catalyst was found as a suitable method for the production the required sieve fractions. A 2.5 kg batch of sieved catalyst together with 7.5 kg of inert filler was shipped to HYGEAR for testing in the pilot plant. 4.1.3.3. Membranes development Tubular metallic supported membranes TECNALIA has developed Interdiffusion layers with suitable surface properties and gas permeation around the target. Only a minor modification of the YSZ top layer thickness is required to ensure high enough permeance in all the supports before depositing the selective layer. The powder spraying techniques used during the project (detonation spraying, atmospheric plasma spraying) were found to be unsuitable for preparing ceramic interdiffusion barrier layers with suitable surface quality for thin Pd-Ag membranes (≤5 microns). During the 2nd period, wet deposition technique was optimized to deposit YSZ-Al2O3 based layers onto porous metallic supports obtaining layers with suitable surface quality. TECNALIA prepared ~5 microns thick Pd-Ag membrane supported on ceramic coated Hastelloy X porous tube by direct electroless plating technique deposition (ELP). Direct PVD deposition was found to be unsuitable for obtaining defect-free Pd-Ag layers onto porous supports, and 4-5 microns thick Pd-Ag membranes on ceramic porous supports were therefore prepared by electroless plating technique. The combination of surface treated Hastelloy X support with the deposition of YSZ-Al2O3 layers by wet deposition technique provided the suitable surface quality for depositing ~5 µm thick Pd-Ag layers. TU/e tested one of these membranes in a fluidized bed membrane reactor for ATR and SMR reactions at TU/e. Single gas permeation tests during more than 800 hours at temperatures between 500 and 600 °C showed high H2 permeance (~ 1 x 10-6 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 at 600 ºC) with exceptional ideal H2/N2 selectivity always above 200,000 (see figure hereafter).

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Figure 8. H2 permeance (open circles) and H2/N2 ideal permselectivity (closed circles) of the metallic supported membrane as a function of time on stream at 500-600 ºC. Prolonged operation at 600 °C resulted in the presence of defects on the surface of the membrane associated to an increase in N2 permeance with the consequence of a pronounced decrease in ideal



selectivity (of 2,650 after 200 h) (see Figure 8). Catalyst interaction with the Pd-Ag layer has not been observed since H2 permeance is the same for single gas tests with empty tube configuration and fluidized bed configuration. This also implies the absence of mass transfer resistances caused by the particles. (Close to) thermodynamic equilibrium is achieved both in ATR and SMR membrane-assisted processes. However, a full conversion of CH4 is never achieved. This can be partially explained by the large amount of inert gas fed together with the CH4:H2O. This decreases dramatically the partial pressure of the other components. After all the experiments a decrease in ideal H2/N2 selectivity has been observed due to the defects created in the surface. As determined through a test with the membrane submerged in ethanol, all defects are associated to micropores in the surface, which is also observed through SEM images. SINTEF has fabricated tubular porous stainless steel-supported membranes (8 cm long). The Pd-alloy films are made using magnetron sputtering onto silicon wafers. In a second step the film is removed from the wafer allowing the preparation of very thin membranes applied on macroporous supports. The prepared membranes show a very good selectivity (H2/N2 > 50,000 and the criteria for ReForCell is therefore met for operation temperature relevant for reforming of ethanol; T up to 450 °C (and P <10 bar). Tubular ceramic supported membranes ~4 µm microns thick Pd-Ag ceramic supported membranes have been prepared at TECNALIA by direct ELP deposition (support: ZrO2 110 nm top layer asymmetric porous tubes). Then, they have been characterized and tested for high-temperature fluidized bed membrane reactor applications at TU/e. New high-temperature Swagelok fittings with graphite ferrules have been optimized to seal the membranes at TU/e, and a leak-tight sealing at 600 ºC for seven days under fluidization conditions has been achieved. The H2 permeance of these thin membranes (~ 5 x 10-6 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 at 600 °C) is at least two times higher compared to other thicker hydrogen-selective membranes reported in the literature. Both SMR and ATR have carried out with these thin-film supported membranes in fluidized bed membrane reactors, showing significant improvements in the performance compared to commercial membranes. However, the prepared Pd-Ag membranes showed defects after single gas tests after seven days at 600 °C. The cause of the pinhole formation is not clear yet, as it can be related to the membrane preparation procedure or ceramic support layer sintering. Micro-channel supported membranes SINTEF has developed microstructured membrane modules that reduce gas phase diffusion limitations and that increase the membrane area to reactor volume ratio compared to traditional tubular reactors.

(a) (b) (c) Figure 9 (a) Microchannel reactor feed side with ∼ 1.1 g of catalyst in 25 channels of 25*1*1 mm (b) PSS permeate section, and (c) cross-section SEM micrograph of a 10 micron-thick Pd77Ag23 film on a PSS support with catalyst in the feed channels (after 1300h of operation).



Since concentration polarization effects are expected to be reduced in such modules, a high space–time-yield is anticipated due to the supplied high volumetric surface area for reaction and membrane separation. An example of a membrane module employing a micro-channel configured feed section given in Figure 9-a). In the ReforCELL project the development has focused on the following topics: Stability studies of microchannel-supported thin Pd-alloy films: the long-term stability of various designs of microstructured membrane modules has extensively been investigated. In the experiments, the H2 permeation performance and stability of the modules are verified over a period of up to 50 days. Operation of micro-channel modules that employ a stainless steel plate with apertures on the permeate side results in a large settling of the film into the permeate section; ultimately this will result in a membrane failure. The operation limits are ~450 °C and pressures up to 5 bars. Integration of the microchannel feed section with a porous stainless steel (PSS) support: For pressures above 5 bars a porous metallic support is introduced for sufficient stabilisation of the thin Pd77Ag23 films (see Figure 9-b)). For such a module, a hydrogen flux of 195.3 mL·min-1·cm-2 was obtained at 5 bars and 450 °C. The module shows a very good stability up to the highest feed pressure applied of 15 bars at a H2/N2 permselectivity > 39.000. The temperature stability is improved by the introduction of YSZ IMDBL, and selective operation has been obtained for 160h at 550°C. Development of enlarged microchannel supported module: A larger micro-channel membrane reactor with micro-structured plates with dimensions ca 17 times larger than the lab-scale module has been developed. Membrane-enhanced reforming reactions applying the microchannel modules: Both non-integrated sequential and integrated membrane reformer process design have been evaluated in terms of membrane module stability and performance under varying methane steam reforming conditions. A catalyst bed has been applied into the feed section channels, see Figure 9-c. The main results are summarized below:

- During non-integrated membrane and catalyst tests a stable membrane operation was obtained at 400 and 450 °C. Even though only one membrane separator stage is applied, the membrane module is able to operate at a H2 recovery factor (HRF) of ~42% at 400 °C and ~44% at 450 °C.

- Integrated membrane reformer systems were tested up to 8 bars and 550 °C during periods of up to 75 days applying either a commercial Ni-based catalyst or the Ru-based catalyst developed by HYBRID. The Ru-based catalyst is less prone to coke formation than the Ni-catalyst and more active at low temperatures.

- The performance of the Ru-catalyst integrated reactor system is limited by the H2 removal rate through the membrane. This contradicts to the Ni-based catalyst which limits the performance.

- Compared to the conventional packed-bed reactor with an equilibrium methane conversion < 40%, the continuous hydrogen removal shifts the equilibrium and therefore a higher methane conversion is obtained. At a W/F ratio of 27 gcath/molCH4 (GHSV = 6,000 h-1), a methane conversion >95% and a H2 production rate of 4.5 Nm3·m-2·h-1 was obtained at 550 ºC and a feed pressure of 6 bar, see Figure 10.



Figure 10. Methane conversion and H2 flux as function of the W/F ratio at 550 °C and S/C = 3 for the membrane-assisted reactor (MR) and a conventional packed-bed reactor (PBR); GHSV = 6000-72000 h-1; N2:CH4:H2O = 20:20:60. Further improvements to the reactor design can be implemented in terms of membrane surface area per catalyst volume by a decrease in channel dimension from the currently applied width and height of 1 mm. This parameter can be exploited to tune the membrane surface area to the catalytic activity per volume unit of the applied catalyst. Manufacturing of dense-metal membranes for integration into prototype unit As requested by HYGEAR, 34 membranes have been prepared at TECNALIA and sealed at TU/e using Swagelok with graphite ferrules (see Figure 11). The membranes consist of 4-5 µm thick Pd-Ag layers deposited onto ZrO2 110 nm top layer asymmetric porous tubes prepared by direct ELP deposition. The final length of the membranes after sealing is of 19-20 cm.

Figure 11. Double membranes prepared at TECNALIA and sealed at TU/e.

Analysis of production costs and scale up of the membrane production technology unit A cost analysis of an up-scaled production of Pd-based membranes has been performed. Depending on the production method and type of support applied (ceramic and metallic) a cost per square meter of membrane ranging from 3000-5000 euro/m2 has been assessed. In the case of metallic supported 4-5 microns thick Pd-Ag membranes prepared by direct ELP deposition at TECNALIA, the metallic support is the main cost of the total of the membrane. In the



case of the ceramic supported 4 microns thick membrane prepared by ELP, the palladium and the ceramic support have very similar cost. On the other hand, the total cost for production of membranes by magnetron sputtering (two stage process) developed at SINTEF is 5,000 euro/m2 (for 5 micron thick Pd-based membranes). In this case, the cost of the support is the main constituent of the overall membrane cost (~50%). Non-Pd alloys For the first generation of non-Pd membranes, pure V based composite layers (Pd/V/Pd) were developed using DC power supplies by PVD magnetron sputtering at TECNALIA. The membranes were tested at 300 °C and were fragilized after H2 exposure. According to theoretical calculations, amorphous Zr30Cu60Ti10 has similar H2 perm as Pd at T > 600 K. Pd/Zr30Cu60Ti10/Pd made by sputtering at SINTEF shows however a significant reduction in hydrogen flux with temperature cycling caused by recrystallization during testing at 450 °C. The work on non-Pd alloys was terminated shortly after M18. 4.1.3.4. Lab-scale ATR-CMR fuel reformer The selected lab scale reformer is the fluidized bed reactor. TU/e has developed the lab-scale Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactor (to accommodate up to 5 membranes). This reactor has been tested up to 6 bar and up to 650 °C with commercial membranes and commercial catalysts. Tecnalia delivered more than 10 Pd-alloy membranes, deposited on both ceramic and metal supports. Hybrid Catalysis synthetized a new generation of catalyst, based on Ru and supported on CeO2-ZrO2 matrix. TU/e has tested the mechanical stability of such particles in fluidized bed operation and no loss of particle size has been observed even under high temperature operation in bubbling fluidization regime. The Pd-alloy membranes manufactured by TECNALIA were sealed using commercial standard Swagelok connectors (316 SS) together with graphite gaskets for 3/8” OD tubes provided by CHROMalytic TECH(nology) Pty Ltd. The graphite gaskets were sized to the outer membrane diameter of 10.1 – 10.5 mm and pretreated with a membrane dummy to the standard Swagelok connector. Figure 12 shows a schematic of the sealing (a) and a picture of the sealed tubular Pd-alloy membrane with graphite gaskets to a standard Swagelok connector (b). The bottom part of the connector has been specially designed for membranes that will be immersed vertically in the fluidized bed to avoid gas holdup below the membrane. In case of integration in packed bed reactors, simple Swagelok caps could be used.

Figure 12. Schematic of the graphite based sealing (a), and a photograph of sealed tubular membrane (b).

a b



The membranes were tested for single gas permeation, mixed gas permeation and for steam reforming and autothermal reforming of methane in fluidized bed membrane reactors. In Figure 13-a the hydrogen flux through a sealed membrane at different hydrogen partial pressures and different temperatures between 380 – 600 °C is shown after the stability tests were performed. The hydrogen permeation rate is increasing with increasing transmembrane partial pressure difference and temperature, as expected. The tested membrane shows an almost perfect linear behaviour for the pressure exponential factor n = 0.5 (R2 >0.995), which is typical for Pd-alloy membranes at low pressures, if bulk-diffusion through the membrane is the rate limiting step according to Sieverts’ law [5]. The membrane parameters for the tested membrane have been determined at 10 kJ·mol-1 for the activation energy (∆Eact) and 6.93·10−8 mol m-2 Pa-0.5 s-1 for the pre-exponential factor (P0) using the plot of the logarithm of the permeance against the reciprocal temperature (shown in Figure 13-b).

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Figure 13. (a) H2 flux vs. H2 partial pressure difference at different temperatures for fresh sealed membranes after thermal cycling tests, (b) linear regression to determine membrane parameters (intercept value is ln(P0) and slope is -Eact in J/mol). The first test with five tubular membranes prepared by TECNALIA has been performed with conventional SMR. Figure 14 and Figure 15 show the obtained retentate compositions together with the achieved methane conversion. It can be seen that methane conversion increases with increasing temperatures, where the extracted hydrogen stream includes a noticeable amount of CO. Nevertheless, the hydrogen purity still remains above 99.98 % for all cases. During the experiments it was observed that the amount of CO in the permeate stream increased from the first day of tests to the second day of tests at the same operation conditions. An increase of the temperature also leads to an increase of the CO impurity in the permeate stream.

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Figure 15. Steam methane reforming (SMR) in a FBMR with five tubular TECNALIA membranes at 550 and 600 °C. Feed: SCR of 3 and an NCR of 8.4 with a total flow rate of 10.3 Nl/min to ensure fluidization. Table 6 gives a summary of the different operating conditions used in the SMR tests. The results clearly show the increase in the hydrogen recovery at higher temperatures due to the increased hydrogen permeability of the membranes at higher temperatures. During the first day of tests the equilibrium conversion was reached as expected, but remarkably during the second day of experiments, the methane conversion was higher at the same operating conditions and increased even slightly beyond the equilibrium conversion. Comparing the equilibrium conversion of methane and the conversion obtained during the experiments, especially in the second day, a significant increase has been detected. Analysing the surface of the membranes and the sealing after these tests, it was observed that the sealing was damaged, which could be the reason for the CO increase in the permeate gas stream. The membrane surface was free of defects, which assures that the membranes can survive under reforming conditions for this test duration.



Table 6. Summary of SMR in the FBMR with tubular Pd-Ag/ZrO2 membranes prepared at TECNALIA at 1.3 bar at several temperatures. Day of membrane Tests Day 1 Day 2 System pressure (bar) 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 System temperature (°C) 500 550 550 600

CH4 eq. conversion (%) 55.7 73.0 73.0 88.1

u/umf (-) 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

Volumetric flow rate in reactor (l/min) 20.9 22.3 22.3 24

CH4 conversion (%) 55.5 73.1 76.4 89.3

Exhaust H2/CO ratio (-) 22.6 16.1 15.8 11 CO selectivity (-) 0.12 0.16 0.18 0.25

H2 selectivity (-) 3.85 3.79 3.83 3.74

H2 recovery factor (HRF) (-) 0.17 0.22 0.2 0.23

H2 separation factor (HSF) (-) 0.31 0.31 0.28 0.28

Hydrogen permeate impurity (ppm CO) 50 70 120 200 Hydrogen permeate flow (Nml/min) 550 740 700 800 In a second test, ATR of methane has been performed using the five tubular membranes prepared by TECNALIA, and the retentate stream composition and methane conversion are shown in Figure 16. The feed conditions have been different to the test performed with the REB membranes, so the results obtained in terms of conversion of methane cannot be directly ascribed to the different membranes, while the hydrogen recovery and separation can. Table 7. Comparison of ATR without membranes, with REB membranes and with TECNALIA membranes.

Without membranes REB membranes TECNALIA membranes

CH4 eq. conversion (%) 93.2 91 93.2 u/umf (-) 1.5 1.5 1.5 CH4 conversion (%) 89.5 92.9 96.7 Exhaust H2/CO ratio (-) 12.3 7.3 10.4 CO selectivity (-) 0.31 0.29 0.22 H2 selectivity (-) 3.59 2.77 3.41 H2 recovery (-) - 0.2 0.35 H2 separation factor (-) - 0.24 0.31 H2 permeate impurities (ppm) - <1.5 >500 H2 permeate flow (Nml/min) - 845 870 Comparing the results obtained for ATR reforming without and with the TECNALIA membranes, which are shown in Table 7, the methane conversion has increased by 7.2% from 89.5% to 96.7%. The total amount of produced hydrogen has been increased by 7.7% resulting in a total flow rate of hydrogen of 2.71 l/min. The hydrogen recovery and the purity of the hydrogen stream are still comparable.



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Figure 16. Autothermal reforming of methane (ATR) in a FBMR with five membranes at 600 °C. Feed: SCR of 3, OCR of 0.25 and an NCR of 8.2. Total feed flow rate 10.3 Nml/min. 4.1.3.5. Design and manufacturing of novel ATR Reformer The following objectives regarding pilot scale ATR membrane reactor were achieved: Design of ATR membrane reactor Design and assembly of test setup for evaluation of the performance of membrane reactor Conceptual design and implementation of automated controls for membrane reactor Building and testing the pilot scale membrane reactor Completion of the final model of ATR membrane reactor Evaluation of potentials and markets for membrane reactors

Based upon the improved membranes an ATR membrane reactor was developed. The reactor employs 15 membranes and about 0.4 m in length (see Figure 17). The reactor was designed for operating at 8 bara at 600 °C with a maximum production capacity of 5 Nm3/h and capable to modulate to a minimum output of 1.5 Nm3/h of hydrogen. The reaction section includes an array of thermocouples giving information about the axial and radial distribution of the temperatures inside the reactor. The novel fuel processor module was built using the membrane reactor with all needed balance of plant mounted into a skid for ease of transportation as shown in Figure 18. The fuel processor is completely automated and controlled by a smart controller. The system allows for remote monitoring and control by a separate computer.

Figure 17. Design of ATR membrane reactor.



Figure 18. Assembled membrane reactor with balance of plant and controls. The membrane reactor was tested for different operating conditions with ranging pressure, temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio. Difficulties were found in fragility of the supports of the membranes which failed early in the testing phase. Improved protocol for handling, assembling and testing the membranes has been defined. The remaining tests were performed at lower flows and without extraction of hydrogen. During the testing, the ATR reactor reached a stable production of 1.7 Nm3 of H2 per Nm3 of CH4 feed. Flow patterns, heat transfer limits and integration possibilities of the reactor were identified. During testing, the performance was checked in the SCADA panel view (see Figure 19). Several parameters (e. g., pressures, temperatures, flow rate, valve position, etc.), can be also monitored by the graphical control panel. A model was developed based on the results to simulate the fluidized bed membrane reactor. The model can be used for calculation of membrane area and to analyse the influence of some variables such as reactor temperature, heat loss and operating load. The model also evaluates the required NG, air and steam flow rates to achieve the H2 production target, operating at autothermal condition. Another model of the complete fuel processor including peripheral components of the balance of plant was also developed to describe the ATR-MR system performance. The system includes the ATR membrane reactor and the auxiliary units to recover the heat source from permeate and retentate streams. The model analyses the influence of some variables such as reactor temperature, heat loss and operating load, allowing an optimization procedure (CAPEX minimization) of the heat exchanging network. The results of ATR-MR system model provide a sort of maps of the required operating condition as a function of the H2 production target. By decreasing the hydrogen output, the O2/C ratio increases, and the requirements for feed of steam relative to the NG feed (S/C) decreases.



Figure 19. Screenshot of the SCADA interface.

Technologies developed in ReforCELL could open doors for commercialization of new products. A market study for economically relevant countries in Europe shows that for units in the size range of 3-8 Nm3/h of hydrogen, a potential market size of nearly 2.25 M units a year can be estimated. It is essential for potential developers to consider specific geographical areas and market segments which are particularly favourable for initial introduction of the systems. The reforming catalyst could compete with commercially available solutions in the sectors of small reformers for stationary fuel cells or hydrogen generators for Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS). Membrane technology may offer in the short term period solutions in markets for dehydrogenation, high value chemicals, and hydrogen upgrading or extraction from mixtures. The ATR membrane reactors could have a role in the diffusion of distributed power generation with fuel cell technology. The characteristics of the membrane reactor make it especially suitable for their use in combination with stationary fuel cell power generators: Compactness Operation at lower temperature Delivery of low pressure, high purity hydrogen Proven for stationary applications



The focus is on economies where the technology becomes economically attractive due to a number of factors: Energy price structure characterized by an elevated electricity to gas price ratio Prolonged cold seasons Policy framework favourable for CHP and adoption of innovative technologies for distributed

generation 4.1.3.6. Integration and validation in CHP system The technical objective of this activity was the integration and validation of the m-CHP system including the manufacturing and test of the fuel cell stack prototype to be integrated in the m-CHP. The activities on the fuel cell stack focused on the evaluation of the performance and short term durability of PEMFC short stacks in operating conditions representative of the application and compatible with reformer and system requirements. The activities included the selection of relevant core components available as commercial products or at prototype level, the definition of sets of operating conditions relevant for the application considered, the test of a short stack applying these conditions to get additional information for the dimensioning of the system. Performance tests have been performed as well as some durability test to evaluate the performance short term stability. Finally, manufacturing of the prototype to be integrated in the final system, and the test of this stack have been carried out. Short stacks (6 or 8 cells) have been made with Membrane Electrodes Assemblies (MEAs) adapted for reformate fuel operation. Operating conditions have been defined based first on state of the art and then on partners information and system requirements for the fuel cell temperature, fuel and air gases pressures, flow rates, humidification, and of course fuel composition. The impact of fuel composition has been evaluated comparing pure hydrogen with mixtures including mainly hydrogen, carbon dioxide (CO2) and some carbon monoxide (CO). Effect of adding some air (air bleeding operation, in the range 0.5 to 2% of air in the fuel) to reduce the impact of CO has been also studied. Two operating modes for fuel feeding have been tested: fuel circulation with fixed stoichiometric ratio and tests to check the fuel cell behaviour in dead end mode with purges. It has been possible to evaluate the performance of the stack with different gas feeding conditions and to validate that the operating points in terms of cell current/voltage are in the expected range (vs. reference case definition). The impact of some fuel composition has been evaluated considering the voltage losses (in %) versus pure H2. Within the operating range of 0.35/0.45 A/cm², the polarization curves showed that replacing pure hydrogen by a synthetic reformate including CO2 and some CO has a negative impact but limited to 5% if CO concentration is less than 10 ppm. Air bleeding allowed recovering half of the voltage losses in the same current density range. The results achieved in dead end mode with pure hydrogen show that the stack can operate with a homogeneous behaviour of the cells with a selected rhythm for the purges, needed to remove the inert gas and water. More extreme conditions have also been check with particularly the impact of low relative humidity, low pressures, low hydrogen flows and high CO contents (>50 ppm) to check the possible effect of issues related to the system management or to the processor. In parallel, performance stability has been also evaluated by different load cycles, with a day/night type current profile and then following a more specific daily profile planned for the application (Figure 20).



Figure 20. Load cycles and stack voltage applied during more than 250 hrs under pure H2, H2+10ppmCO or H2+50ppmCO+0,5%Air Bleeding (left). Performance of the short stack after load cycles (right). Finally the prototype stack has been designed (specific end-plates), assembled and tested under pure hydrogen. 85 cells stack has been proposed (targeting more than 5 kW at nominal point and 8 kW maximum electric power). Effect of some parameters important for the system operation has been checked showing no impact of stack temperature between 65°C and 70°C, no impact of fuel relative humidity, and around 20 mV/cell gap at nominal point for air pressure between 1.2 and 1.5 bars. Under the nominal operating conditions and pure hydrogen, the prototype showed the same performance (average cell voltage) as the short stack (Figure 21).

Figure 21. Polarisation curves and power of the prototype stack under pure hydrogen (left). Comparison of average stack cells voltage of the prototype 85-cells stack and the 8 cells stack under nominal ReforCELL conditions: 65°C, 1.2 bar, 50/50%RH, st1.5/2. Another objective of this activity, was focused on the definition of the optimized system lay-out implementing the membrane reactor developed within ReforCELL and the PEM stack. The first step consisted in the definition of a reference case to benchmark the performances and costs of the innovative system. Two reference cases have been considered: the first based on a steam-methane

85 cells stack ~ 8 cells stack



reforming reactor while the second on an autothermal reformer (ATR). The main performances of the two reference cases are summarized in Table 8. Results are consistent with available information of commercial systems based on this technology. Table 8. Performances of reference case. Results units SMR ATR Net electric efficiency %LHV 34.2% 32.3% Net thermal efficiency %LHV 46.3% 50.5% Overall efficiency %LHV 80.5% 82.8% Fuel Cell single cell voltage V 0.740 0.728 The second step consisted in the evaluation and comparison of different configurations in order to maximize the system performances. In particular, two different membrane reactors lay-outs have been investigated: the main difference being the adoption of a sweep flow at the permeate side to reduce the membrane surface area instead of a vacuum pump. For both cases, several design parameter of the membrane reactor (i.e. temperature, S/C ratio, feed and permeate pressures) as well as other components (i.e. fuel cell current density, burner temperature, etc.) have been considered in order to define the optimal operating conditions. Example of results is summarized in Figure 22, where calculated electric efficiency and membrane surface areas for different operating conditions of the membrane reactor are reported. In general, the higher is the membrane surface area, the higher is the electric efficiency. Therefore, a preliminary economic assessment is necessary to determine the optimal system design. It can be noted that the maximum electric efficiency is about 40.5%, which is lower than project target (i.e. 42%). The target efficiency can be achieved by increasing the fuel cell conversion efficiency (i.e. reducing the current density), but this option is not worth economic wise, because the additional cost of the fuel cell wouldn’t be balanced. Cases with vacuum pump show even less electric efficiency because of the pump power consumption.

Figure 22. Electrical efficiency and membrane area at diverse reforming temperature.



These two layouts have been also investigated with biogas as fuel feeding. The main difference between natural gas and biogas is in the concentration of the methane: in biogas it is about half of an average European natural gas composition. Two different biogas compositions were considered and evaluated: a typical landfill and anaerobic digester compositions. Efficiency variation for the three different considered fuel compositions and assuming vacuum pump lay-out as function of membrane area is shown in Figure 23.

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Figure 23. Efficiency vs. Membrane area for three different natural gas assuming ReforCELL concept. An important result is about the flexibility of the system with respect to the fuel composition. The membrane reactor can handle and separate pure hydrogen even from diluted methane as in biogas. Biogas requires higher membrane reactor pressures and membrane surface areas because of the dilution, which reduces the permeation driving force. In the case of vacuum pump the efficiency penalty is between 3% and 4%, while it reduces to 1% for sweep case. The net electric efficiency with the same reactor design of NG case ranges from 34% to 39% which is lower than NG. Energy penalties in flexible conversion system dealing with different natural gas occur also in commercial systems. Based on the optimized system layout fed with NG, BoP components have been investigated. The selection and design of components and of the full system have been carried out taking into account the compatibility of main magnitudes (pressure, temperature…) and materials in the system, as well as costs. The best solution identified for natural gas compressor is a COLTRI system coupled with a buffer tank provided by ROTH CYLINDERS. While for compressed air, a BOGE compressor has been identified. The Hexiburner designed by CATATOR, which is a combination of a catalytic burner and a plate heat exchanger, have been selected to recover energy from retentate gas. The interface between the fuel processor and the fuel cell stack system is driven by a vacuum pump proposed by H2Systems, while the air to the fuel cell stack cathode is supplied by Vairex VRB8-35 air blower and humidified by a PermaPure FC200-780-10. The cooling circuit, which keep the stack



temperature into the required range, is equipped with a Swep B5 18 plates heat exchanger and the cooling water is circulated by a Grundfos Magna3 pump. To manage the CHP system, a PLC is used. It is composed by two identical controllers (IOBLOCK): one communicates with fuel processor PLC, and the other is used to measure each single cell voltage. Concerning interface components (mechanical and electrical interface) and the system control strategy, they have been defined. The final integration and test of the system have not been finalized due to Soprano liquidation. On the other side, system size scale up has been assessed, investigating the three main components of the CHP system (ATR, fuel cell stack, balance of plant); technical feasibility and economical aspects have been taken into account. The maximum size considered is 50 kWe according to European Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. Once technical feasibility for sizes up to 50 kWe has been verified, the final specific cost (€/kW) of the whole system has been evaluated. The best size should be a system suited to supply 50 kWe. The specific cost decrease (€/kW) of the whole system liked to size increase is around 78%. Furthermore the flexibility of the CHP system scaled-up have been evaluated, confirming the feasibility of partial load operations (as the system developed within the project) ensuring load decrease until 40%. Finally, which size is more marketable across Europe have been assessed: it is preferable small size systems (10-20 kWe) for smallest buildings with a few dwellings, ensuring bigger sizes (30-50 kWe) with a modular approach. 4.1.3.7. LCA and safety analysis The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) system investigated in the ReforCELL project was assessed by means of a LCA. The general objective is to perform a LCA which evaluates the environmental burdens of conventional PEMFC m-CHP systems (both steam methane reforming (SMR) and autothermal reforming (ATR)) over their whole life cycle (“cradle to grave”) and to compare them with the ReforCELL developed technology system. To have also an idea of the position of the PEMFC m-CHP systems in comparison with other technologies, their impact is also compared with the impact of a natural gas conventional CHP, an alternative where electricity and heat come from the average mix (European electricity mix and country average heat mix) and a last one where electricity and heat come from the green available technology (called “GAT”, wind power and solar thermal). Finally, there are 6 systems compared in the detailed LCA: Fuel cell micro-CHP conventional systems with steam methane reforming (SMR) Fuel cell micro-CHP conventional system with autothermal reforming (ATR) Fuel cell micro-CHP ReforCELL developed technology: autothermal reforming with

membrane reformer (ATR MR) Natural gas fuelled CHP system (50 kWe) System without CHP conventional (using electricity from the grid and an average heat mix) System without CHP good available technology (GAT, using wind power and solar thermal)

The main contributors to the impacts of the ReforCELL system are the extraction and distribution of the natural gas (especially for resources), the direct emissions from reforming (regarding climate change), the auxiliary boiler and the purchased electricity. The m-CHP production, maintenance and



end-of-life are very low contributors to the impacts, except for human health. The ReforCELL developed technology has lower impacts than the conventional production of electricity and heat, but higher impacts than a theoretical optimistic case where wind power and solar thermal are used. Among CHP systems, the ReforCELL developed technology has slightly lower impacts than the other for climate change and resources consumption while they all have similar impacts for the other indicators (slight differences are visible but due to the uncertainty on these indicators, they cannot be considered as different). These results are obtained with a dimensioning for 14 dwellings (for the 5 kWe CHPs). For the PEMFC m-CHP scenarios, important amounts of heat have still to be produced conventionally with an auxiliary boiler. A different dimensioning would give different conclusions as shown in a sensitivity analysis: if the CHP system is dimensioned to fulfil a higher fraction of the needs in heat and the surplus electricity is injected to the grid, the results become better. Indeed, inject electricity to the grid enable to avoid conventional electricity production and represent a benefit. Other sensitivity analyses have been performed on the electricity mix choice, the electric efficiency of the ReforCELL system, the energy use for the manufacturing, the treatment of the ReforCELL m-CHP at the end-of-life or the type of heat considered for the conventional supply but they do not show high influence on the conclusions, or at least not for all indicators. Normalized and weighted results show the importance of climate change and resources indicators for systems such as those studied. Regarding the safety analysis, HyGear identified and evaluated specific safety reactor/membrane parameters for CMRs using tools such as HAZOP and heat and mass transfer transport reaction models, whereas ICI identified and evaluated the safety parameters on the complete system. 4.1.4. Potential impact The European Commission has set the target of greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 80-85% compared to 1990 levels for the year 2050. The energy landscape in the EU is the key focus in realising this goal. Carbon efficient technologies like fuel cells have a large potential in reducing emissions in Europe, and therefore combined heat and power systems should be one of the focus areas. On the other hand, one of the key objectives of the Lisbon Agenda is to increase the productivity and competiveness of European enterprises by investing mainly in key industrial sectors, covering the primary sector and raw material industries up to the knowledge industry focusing on technological research, design and development. This development is encouraged by the challenge to generate more and more power generation from renewables and investments to modernise the electricity grid. Future energy systems need to be equipped with new ways of complementary supply, such as power generation from natural gas. Moreover, long term solutions such as permanent backup supply and efficiency in order to save primary energy and a reduction of fuel imports are needed to increase the energy security. The ReforCELL projects fits just this description and focuses in particular on groups where academia and industry partners jointly strive for cooperation and exploitation in the field of hydrogen production and CHP systems. Next to that the ReforCELL project is also valued because of its contributions to the development of a hydrogen economy transition. The implementation of new and more efficient micro-CHP systems is called by the need of complying with demands for more efficient and cost saving solutions from both the general public as well as policy makers. Of all of the objectives set out by the European Union, energy efficiency seems to be the one most difficult to realise. Central attention should be given to fuel cell powered distributed generation since it shows comparatively higher energy efficiency than conventional sources. Both in residential and industrial sector, there is a great potential for combined heat and power utilisation.



The benefits of the use of CHP systems for the customer lay in increased reliability and be sought in terms of energy and economic savings. The fuel processor developed in ReforCELL is based on low temperature reforming with the use of perm-selective membranes for separation of hydrogen. High selectivity of the membranes and high conversion rates in the system lead to a more efficient use of raw materials and minimization of by-products. Distributed generation from fuel cell systems show a huge energy saving and at the same time avoid transmission losses. Next to that, the technology reduces local emissions of GHG. Using natural gas as the main source, the existing infrastructure can be used. Depending on the fuel used (e.g. biogas), GHG emissions can be eliminated altogether by this technology. Not only the end user experiences benefits when using the micro-CHP systems, the industry will benefit in terms of selling products with a higher value and at larger volumes compared to conventional boilers. In integration with the electricity network (see Figure 24) the technology shows a very high potential for grid balancing in terms of a power mix and a larger use of renewables and electric heating solutions, due to its flexible modulation options and its high efficiencies.

Figure 24. Integration of ReforCELL with residential buildings and the power grid.

The production of CHP systems for residential purposes is stimulated by the European Union as well as the National Governments. The initial aim in the European Union is to reduce residential CHP system costs below 5000 €/kWel. It is expected that market entry and commercialization of this new technology will be successful when the systems have a maximum pay-back time of about five years or when subsidy projects are implemented to support the market accessibility. It is expected that micro-CHP costs will drop significantly once companies’ production volumes increase to small-series and eventually fully industrialized proportion. Not only in Europe, but also in other parts of the world such as Japan, South Korea and the USA, stationary fuel cells have already commercialized and the industry is gaining traction. An obstacle



for the European market is that the industry needs to reduce production costs and offer competitive pricing in order to successfully commercialize this new technology. The technical approach implemented in the ReforCELL project aims to reduce the commercial, technical and environmental risks in a way that ultimately leads to a better product and a replacement for current technologies. The consortium members of ReforCELL investigated a harmonized approach to reformer development and the accompanying requirements and parameters for small scale CHP. The industry is anticipating three major phases of the technology learning process that correspond with cost decrease as formulated as an objective above. The first is standardization, estimated to be up to 500 units cumulative production per company. This already could create a significant cost reduction. It is expected by the players in the industry that costs will drop 40% coming from stack production and added system components. Even today, some European system developers who have already made the step towards commercialization achieved a cost reduction of 25 %. The second step is industrialization, which would account for up to 10,000 units cumulative production per company. Costs are expected to decrease even further with 60 % due to stack and added system costs. At this point in time installation costs are expected to stay the same. A further cost reduction is caused by semi-automation of the production and assembly process. The final phase is considered to be mass-market production and can be identified by a cumulative production per company of 10.000 and more. In this phase, an even further volume range benefit for stack producers is expected. A shift from batch production to completely automatic manufacturing lines is foreseen. During these different phases also maintenance costs and the costs for stack replacements are expected to reduce significantly (respectively by 60 % and 50 %). Savings in primary energy use and therefore overall CO2 emissions are expected from CHP systems in which natural gas is converted into hydrogen and then into electricity and heat. Therefore the European Union and national governments have supported the implementation of CHP in the last couple of years even to the extend in which some member states support so heavily that the electricity supply system operates with up to 65 % overall efficiency compared to the average 33 % overall efficiency on average in the EU. In 2007 there were only one thousand PEM based CHP systems installed in residential houses, with back then, a perspective of sixty thousand in 2010. The total market size could be as large as seven million systems per year (based on the number of boilers sold every year). The future outlook and turning point will be dependent on the PEM costs and legislation. CHP systems can be implemented in many industries and are suitable for many applications, residential, tertiary as well as industrial. The combined heat and power systems can be beneficial for all economic sectors and therefore have a good opportunity to increase its market potential. Next to this, a tight collaboration with boiler manufacturers is necessary since a combination of conventional boilers and micro-CHP systems would result in the best economic option. Moreover, boiler manufacturers already have established contacts and customers in the market that will enable an easier entry for CHP systems. Commercialization is expected to take five years from now onwards. Early adopters of this technology will be universities and academia and governmental buildings, but it is also expected that, depending on the pay-back time, commercial applicants will adopt quickly due to the benefits in



terms of energy bill. Studies have shown than micro-cogeneration systems have a pay-back time of eight to nine years for 1 kWel CHP systems and larger plants have a pay-back time of three to four years for 1 MWel CHP systems. The CHP systems developed in ReforCELL are expected to have a pay-back time of five years. The main socio-economic impacts (benefits) of these CHP systems are lower energy costs and lower emissions. Wide diffusion of micro-CHP systems can help set up a smart-grid revolution. Smart grids are considered a more efficient way of producing electricity. Another impact of this technology development is that a higher technology level is needed to acquire the micro-CHP systems and therefore it will lead to an investment in research and knowledge. Commercialization will have economic impacts in terms of employment. At this moment over 100.000 people in Europe are working on cogeneration. New developments and research in the CHP sectors and hydrogen production sectors will lead to an increase in the global share of these sectors and the possibility to export the technology outside Europe. In order to create a scenario in which distributed generation has emerged as the preferred energy generation and a high share of the energy is generated from renewables, a policy commitment to distributed generation needs to be high and especially policy schemes to push fuel cell powered distributed generation. The main prerequisites should be a high commitment to distributed energy generation, a high share of renewables available, an advanced, integrated and pan-European smart grid, a high spark spread and a high price of CO2. In order to define the market potential for stationary fuel cells, three markets can be identified, primary markets for residential fuel cell CHP solutions where a switch to the micro-CHP technology is easily made because of already existing connections to the gas grid, conversion markets which are also interesting but where switching costs might be higher due to existing non-gas heating solutions and technologies, and at last the tertiary markets in which commercialisation of fuel cells is difficult due to niche segments with very specific power and heat requirements such as biogas and biomass solutions. When considering commercial market segment, both residential and non-residential categories need to be taken into account. The demand potential of stationary fuel cells (heat driven fuel cell CHP solutions) in commercial buildings is limited by conventional heating solutions such as solar PV, which may show direct savings to the end users. With regards to residential buildings, heating structures in apartment buildings in many EU countries is expected to change. In Germany, the UK and Italy especially, gas usage is expected to increase. In fact, the UK is considered the most attractive market for stationary fuel cell systems in apartment buildings. 1/2-family dwellings make up by far the biggest share in the European building stock in terms of units, accounting for 73% of the total building stock in Germany, 65% in the UK, and 67% in Italy and Poland. Gas in the most prevalent solution in the UK, where approximately 80% of buildings are heated with gas –fuelled technologies. A similar dependence on gas can be found in Italy, where approximately 60% of 1/2-family dwellings use gas as a primary heating solution. In Germany, gas remains the most frequently used heating sources, but with a share below 50%. In Poland, due to the proliferation of district heating, gas only accounts for 7% of 1/2-family dwellings’ heating choice. The addressable market for fuel cell technologies is determined by three main factors: the development of the building stock, driven by construction of new buildings; heating technology installations in new buildings (including the further expansion of the gas distribution grid); switching of heating technologies in the building stock.



The largest primary market for stationary fuel cells in the ½-family dwellings segments lies in the UK., where approximately 792,000 gas boiler replacements are due in 2012 (see Figure 25). Assuming an average size of the fuel cell system of 1 kWel, the total addressable primary market is approximately 792 MWel. In 2030, the market is expected to increase to 904,000 replacements and 904 MWel. The size of the primary marked in Germany and Italy is very similar, with more than 400,000 units annually. Poland is the smallest potential primary market with approximately 40,000 units annually, increasing to 70,000 units.

Figure 25. Estimated market potential for selected European economies in 1/2-family dwellings [MWel; ‘000 units]3. On the other side, the apartment building sector is the largest in the commercial market segment, accounting for 55% of total building stock across all focus markets. The largest primary markets for stationary fuel cell technologies in apartment building remain the UK, Italy and Germany. Poland’s gas share in apartment buildings is significantly superior to the gas share in 1/2-family dwellings. In the four focus markets, there is an estimated annual primary market potential of 1.69 GWel installed capacity and conversion market potential of almost 0.59 GWel. Until 2010, the primary market potential could reach 1.77 GWel, whilst the conversion market may increase to 0.62 GWel (Figure 26). The figure below shows the potential market (primary and conversion markets) in numbers of units and as a total installed capacity per country. Compared to the UK and Italy, Germany shows a relatively small market with regards to annual exchanges of heating technologies. However, Germany is expected to reach UK levels in 2030. With capacities of more than 810 MWel and 670 MWel respectively, the UK and Germany are seen as the most promising potential markets, followed by Italy and Poland. When considering the non-residential structures, consisting of agriculture, commercial, storage and industrial buildings, there is a lot of diversity between the different segments. The heating structure is highly diverse per industry and per country, dependent on the specific requirements. However, two overall conclusions can be made: market specific heating structures influence heating technologies to a very large extent and differentiation between rural and urban buildings should not be underestimated.

3 Advancing Europe’s energy systems: Stationary fuel cells in distributed generation - DOI:10.2843/088142



Depending on the evolution of non-residential buildings, which is compared to the residential sector, more significant on average, it is expected that the commercial sector will show the largest market potential in terms of annual capacity. However, due to the complexity of customer settings and purchasing decision-making processes, the European stationary fuel cell industry has set the main target on systems that are primarily designed for the residential (customer) sector.

Figure 26. Estimated market potential for selected European economies in apartment buildings []MWel; ‘000 units]4. Associated community societal objectives Employment: The energy efficiency sector in Europe as a whole employs over half a million European citizens with over 100,000 of those employed in cogeneration. Under the risk that the EU CHP industry could become a net importer of CHP systems from Japan or USA, the European Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Platform defined future strategic R&D and deployment strategies for this sector (now implemented by the FCH JU) aimed to help this sector in maintaining a large global share. REFORCELL will contribute herewith by providing decisive step-changes in the CHP sectors and hydrogen production sectors that will not only safeguard its global market position and employment but also enable it to enter new markets and create new workplaces. Quality of Life & Health: Smaller and more compact MRs (and m-CHP), with lower hazardous inventories, will lead to safer and more comfortable working conditions. Environmental issues: (1) More efficient use of raw material resources and minimization of by-products formation (less wastes) due to the high selectivity and conversion rates. (2) Fostering of green transportation and energy supply technologies due to lower H2 and m-CHP prices.

4 Advancing Europe’s energy systems: Stationary fuel cells in distributed generation - DOI:10.2843/088142



4.1.5. Project public website and contact The address of the public Website of the Project as well as relevant contact details. Project public website with further information of the about the project and consortium and main contacts details are detailed hereafter: www.reforcell.eu Project manager: Dr. José Luis Viviente e-mail: [email protected] Technical manager: Associate Prof. Fausto Gallucci e-mail: [email protected] Dissemination manager: Dr. Giampaolo Manzolini e-mail: [email protected] Exploitation manager: Dr. Leonardo Roses e-mail: [email protected] List of all beneficiaries with the corresponding contact name and associated coordinates

Nº Participant short name

Contact name E-mail

1 TECNALIA José Luis Viviente [email protected]

2 TU/e Fausto Gallucci [email protected]

3 CEA Sylvie Escribano [email protected]

4 POLIMI Giampaolo Manzolini [email protected]

5 SINTEF Rune Bredesen [email protected]

6 ICI Carlo Tregambe [email protected]

7 HYGEAR Leonardo Roses [email protected]

8 SOPRANO * - -

9 HYBRID Erik Abbenhuis [email protected]

10 QUANTIS Simone Pedrazzini [email protected]

11 JRC Georgios Tsotridis [email protected]

* SOPRANO is under liquidation



















Use and dissemination of foreground FCH JU Grant Agreement number: 278997












4.2. Use and dissemination of foreground Detailed information on the use and dissemination of foreground can be found in the final version of the deliverable D1.6 (Final version of the Plan for use and dissemination of foreground). Section A Main dissemination activities have been: i) Publications in scientific journals. Overall REFORCELL has published 8 articles in peer-

reviewed journals. A detailed list is reported in the table hereafter (see the latest newsletter as well).

ii) Publications in book chapters: 3 contributions. iii) Major international and national conferences attended by REFORCELL participants and

both poster and oral presentations given, as appropriate. Overall the consortium has contributed in more than 22 oral or poster presentation. A detailed list is reported in table later on (see the latest newsletter).

iv) Six monthly newsletters on the project activities and dissemination. 7 newsletters have been

released (see http://www.REFORCELL.eu/dissemination/communication/). v) Non-confidential presentations. 3 non-confidential presentations have been released

(http://www.REFORCELL.eu/dissemination/presentation/2015/2015.php). vi) The training, dissemination and/or exploitation workshops. The following public workshops

have been organised by REFORCELL or jointly with other EC projects:

• The technology oriented workshop has been organised with other EC funded projects that share similar technological challenges. CARENA, CoMETHy and DEMCAMER. The two-day workshop was held at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Petten, The Netherlands on 20th-21st of November 2014. The workshop brought together more than 70 participants from 17 countries with a broad participation of industrial stakeholders besides representatives of research institutions and universities. See deliverable D10.21 for further information.

• The final dissemination and exploitation event which took place at the CEA-LITEN in Grenoble (France), on 11th December 2015. Presentation can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.REFORCELL.eu/dissemination/presentation/2015/.

vii) Public website. A public website has been set-up during the initial months of the project. The

website has been regularly updated with the latest news as well as the different public documents released by the consortium (i.e. public presentations, newsletters,…).

viii) Besides, leaflets and poster presentation of the overall REFORCELL project were also released

at different times along the project duration.

.

http://www.reforcell.eu/dissemination/communication/

http://www.reforcell.eu/dissemination/presentation/2015/2015.php

http://www.reforcell.eu/dissemination/presentation/2015/



TEMPLATE A1: LIST OF SCIENTIFIC (PEER REVIEWED) PUBLICATIONS

NO. Title Main author Title of the periodical or the series

Number, date or frequency

Publisher Place of publication

Year of publication

Relevant pages

Permanent identifiers7 (if available)

Is/Will open access8 provided to this publication?

1 Technical assessment of a micro-cogeneration system based on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and fluidized bed autothermal reformer

G. Di Marcoberardino

Applied Energy 162 Elsevier 2016 231-244 doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.068

No

2 Pd-based metallic supported membranes: high-temperature stability and fluidized bed reactor testing

J.A. Medrano International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

In Press Elsevier 2015 1-13 doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.10.094

No

3 Preparation and characterization of metallic supported thin Pd-Ag membranes for hydrogen separation

E. Fernandez Chemical Engineering Journal

In Press Elsevier 2015 - doi:10.1016/j.cej.2015.09.119

No

4 Preparation and characterization of thin-film Pd-Ag supported membranes for high-temperature applications

E. Fernandez International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

40 (39) Elsevier 2015 13463-13478

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.08.050

No

5 Fabrication of Pd-based membranes by magnetron sputtering - possibilities for membrane and module design

T.A Peters Chapter in book: A. Doukelis, K. Panopoulos, A. Koumanakos and E. Kakaras “Palladium membrane technology for hydrogen production, carbon capture and other

- Woodhead Publ.

2015 25-41 ISBN 978-1-78242-234-1

No

7 A permanent identifier should be a persistent link to the published version full text if open access or abstract if article is pay per view) or to the final manuscript accepted for publication (link to article in repository). 8 Open Access is defined as free of charge access for anyone via Internet. Please answer "yes" if the open access to the publication is already established and also if the embargo period for open access is not yet over but you intend to establish open access afterwards.



applications 6 Stability investigation of micro-

configured Pd-Ag membrane modules – effect of operating temperature and pressure

T.A Peters Int. J. Hydrogen Energy

40 (8) Elsevier 2015 3497-3505

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.11.019

No

7 Hydrogen Safety Risk Assessment Methodology applied to a Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactor in Autothermal Reforming of Natural Gas

N. Psara Int. J. Hydrogen Energy

40 (32) Elsevier 2015 10090-10102

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.06.048

No

8 Development of a RhZrO2 catalyst for low temperature autothermal reforming of methane in membrane reactors

L. Marra Catal. Today 236 Elsevier 2014 23-33 doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2013.10.069

No

9 Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of membrane reactors: simulation of a palladium-based membrane reactor in fuel cell micro-cogenerator system

L. Roses Chapter in book: A. Basile “Handbook of membrane reactors: Reactor types and industrial applications

Vol. 1 Woodhead Publ.

2013 496-531 ISBN-13: 9780857094148

No

10 Economic analysis of systems for electrical energy and hydrogen production: fundamentals and application to two membrane reactor processes

G. Manzolini Chapter in book: A. Basile “Handbook of membrane reactors: Reactor types and industrial applications

Vol. 2 Woodhead Publ.

2013 528-550 ISBN-13: 9780857094155

No

11 Recent advances on membranes and membrane reactors for hydrogen production

F. Gallucci Chem. Eng. Sci. 92 2013 40-66 doi:10.1016/j.ces.2013.01.008

No



TEMPLATE A2: LIST OF DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES

NO. Type of activities9 Main leader Title Date Place Type of audience10

Size of audience Countries addressed

1 Oral - 12th international conference on membrane science and technology (MST2015

E. Fernandez Palladium based membrane reactors for hydrogen production

1-3 November 2015 Teheran (Iran)

Scientific community; Industry

200 ca World wide

2 Oral - Summer School: Ionic and protonic conducting ceramic membranes for green energy applications

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka Palladium membranes 23-25 Sept.

2015 Valencia (Spain)


100 ca. European Countries

3 Oral - 12th International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR12)

T.A Peters Membrane micro-reactors for methane steam reforming processes

22-25 June 2015

Szczecin (Poland)


200 ca. European Countries; China, South Korea; India; Iran; Israel; USA; etc.

4 Oral - 12th International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR12)

E. Fernandez On membrane preparation for high temperature membrane reactors

22-25 June 2015

Szczecin (Poland)



5 Poster - 12th International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR12)

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Preparation and characterization of ultra-thin (<1 µm) palladium-silver membranes

22-25 June 2015

Szczecin (Poland)



6 Poster - 12th International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR12)

E. Fernandez Metallic supported palladium alloy membranes for high temperature (fluidized bed) applications

22-25 June 2015

Szczecin (Poland)



7 Oral - 23rd Process Intensification Network E. Fernandez

New advances on membrane reactors for hydrogen production

20 May 2015 Newcastle (UK)


100 ca Euorpean Countries

8 Oral- Joint Workshop on Scale-up of Pd Membrane Technology From G. Manzolini Techno-economic optimization

of Pd-based membrane 20-21 November 2014

Petten (The Netherlands)

Scientific community; 120 ca. European Countries;

China, South Korea; India;

9 A drop down list allows choosing the dissemination activity: publications, conferences, workshops, web, press releases, flyers, articles published in the popular press, videos, media briefings, presentations, exhibitions, thesis, interviews, films, TV clips, posters, Other. 10 A drop down list allows choosing the type of public: Scientific Community (higher education, Research), Industry, Civil Society, Policy makers, Medias ('multiple choices' is possible.



Fundamental Understanding to Pilot Demonstration

reactors in PEM micro-CHP systems

Industry Iran; Israel; USA; etc.

9 Oral - Joint Workshop on Scale-up of Pd Membrane Technology From Fundamental Understanding to Pilot Demonstration

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Development of Pd-based supported membranes

20-21 November 2014




10 Oral - 13th International conference on inorganic membranes, ICIM-13

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Fluidized bed membrane reactors for H2 production using thin Pd-Ag supported membranes

July 6-9 2014 Brisbane (Australia)


200 ca. World wide

11 Oral - 13th International conference on inorganic membranes, ICIM-13 E. Fernandez

Development of Pd-Ag supported membranes for high temperature fluidized bed membrane reactors



200 ca. World wide

12 Poster - 13th International conference on inorganic membranes, ICIM-13 M. Stange

Stability studies of microchannel-supported thin Pd-alloy membranes



200 ca. World wide

13 Oral - IX Congreso Ibero-Americano en Ciencia y Tecnología de Membranas (CITEM)

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Palladium membranes for hydrogen separation and membrane reactors

25-28 May 2014 Santander (Spain)



14 Oral - 11th International Conference of Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR11)

F. Gallucci Methane ATR in a catalytic microreactor and integration of a self-supported Pd-membrane for hydrogen separation

7-11 July 2013 Porto (Portugal)


200 ca World wide


F. Gallucci Auto-Thermal Reforming over RhZrO2 catalyst in a membrane Microreactor



200 ca World wide


T.A. Peters

Microchannel-supported thin Pd-alloy membranes – application in membrane micro-reactors for methane steam reforming and propane dehydrogenation processes



200 ca World wide

17 Oral -Inorganic membranes summer school,

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Preparation and characterization of Palladium membranes for hydrogen separation

4-6 Sept. 2013 Valencia (Spain)





18 Oral -Inorganic membranes summer school, J.L. Viviente

Design and manufacturing of catalytic membranes reactors (DEMCAMER) and advanced multi-fuel reformer for CHP-fuel cell systems (REFORCELL)

4-6 Sept. 2013 Valencia (Spain)



19 4th International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors F. Gallucci

Membrane microreactors for hydrogen production via ATR of methane

25-27 September 2013

Beijing (China)


200 ca World wide

20 Oral - 5th World hydrogen Technologies Convention

D.A. Pacheco Tanaka

Reparation of supported Pd based membranes for hydrogen separation

25-28 September 2013

Shangai (China)


200 ca World wide

21 Poster - Dissemination of European Projects section, 5th European Fuel Cell Conference

REFORCELL 11-13 December 2013 Rome (Italy)


200 ca World wide

22 Oral - Proc. IMeTI & CARENA Workshop T.A. Peters

Pd-based Membranes in H2 Production and CO2 Capture Processes: status at SINTEF

27-28 March 2012

Montpellier (France)


70 ca. European countries

23 Event organization: Joint Workshop on Scale-up of Pd Membrane Technology From Fundamental Understanding to Pilot Demonstration

T.A. Peters

Joint Workshop on Scale-up of Pd Membrane Technology From Fundamental Understanding to Pilot Demonstration

20-21 November 2014




24 Final dissemination and exploitation workshop J.L. Viviente

Final dissemination and exploitation workshop: several presentations

11 December 2015

Grenoble (2015)


20 ca. European countries



Section B (confidential) The whole section B is confidential At the closure of the project no applications for patents, trademark, registered designs have been done.



Please complete the table hereafter:

TEMPLATE B2: OVERVIEW TABLE WITH EXPLOITABLE FOREGROUND

Exploitable Foreground (description)

Exploitable product(s) or measure(s) Sector(s) of application

Timetable, commercial use

Patents or other IPR exploitation (licences) (*)

Owner & Other Beneficiary(s) involved (*)

1. Low temperature reforming catalyst

ATR catalyst Companies in process and chemical engineering. CHP

2017 Owner is interested in all exploitation options

HYBRID (owner)

2. Deposition of catalyst on dedicated structure

Procedure for deposition of catalyst

Companies in process and chemical engineering

2017 Mainly manufacturing the catalyst.

HYBRID (owner)

3. Membrane for hydrogen separation

Hydrogen separation membrane by direct deposition by ELP onto ceramic and metallic porous supports.


2017 Manufacturing the membranes

TECNALIA (owner)

4. Sealing procedure for Pd-based tubular supported membranes

Know-how for integrating membranes in a reactor or separation module


2017 Internal use TU/e and TECNALIA

5. Pd-based micro-structured membrane modules and/or reactors

Thin Pd-Ag membrane (≤10 µm) supported on a porous stainless steel permeate section and with a micro-channel feed section


2017 Small-scale modules available as proto-type systems.

SINTEF (owner)

6. Design of Catalytic membrane reactors

Technical designs Companies in process and chemical engineering

>2018 Under internal evaluation HYGEAR, (owner)

7. Membrane reactors modelling and simulation

Numerical tools for simulation and modelling of the reactor


2017 Under internal evaluation TU/e and HYGEAR

8. LCA model for catalysts, membranes and reactors

LCA methodology for m-CHP systems and components

Industrial manufacturers of such technologies

2016 Providing the service QUANTIS

9. Reactor prototype Fuel processor for H2 production

Building and commercial sector for CHP Hydrogen refuelling stations

>2018 >2020

Under internal evaluation HYGEAR (owner) TECNALIA, TU/e, CEA, POLIMI, SINTEF, ICI (users)



TEMPLATE B2: OVERVIEW TABLE WITH EXPLOITABLE FOREGROUND

Exploitable Foreground (description)

Exploitable product(s) or measure(s) Sector(s) of application

Timetable, commercial use

Patents or other IPR exploitation (licences) (*)

Owner & Other Beneficiary(s) involved (*)

10. BoP for CHP system New BoP components for integrating CMR in CHP systems

Building and commercial sector for CHP

>2020 Under internal evaluation CEA,POLIMI, ICI

11. Control for membrane based CHP system

Compact real time process controller for CHP systems


> 2020 Under internal evaluation ICI, POLIMI and contribution of HYGEAR and CEA

12. Control for membrane reformers

Controller hardware and software

Hydrocarbon processing and upgrading

>2016 N/A HYGEAR (owner)

13. Fuel Cell Fuel cell adapted to the system developed


>2017 Under internal evaluation CEA (owner)

(*) See IPRs and exploitation claims table for further details (page 52) In addition to the table, please provide a text to explain the exploitable foreground, in particular: • Its purpose • How the foreground might be exploited, when and by whom • IPR exploitable measures taken or intended • Further research necessary, if any • Potential/expected impact (quantify where possible)



Project results: REFORCELL consortium has participated in one Seminar for identifying and defining the Exploitation of the Results. As an output of this seminar the results have been identified and characterised for defining the exploitation strategy and pathway. A final updated has been carried out end of the project. The project results are summarized hereafter. Result n.1: Low Temperature reforming catalyst A ruthenium on ceria zirconia based low temperature ATR catalyst has been developed in the frame of REFORCELL. HYBRID is the main contributor to this result. He is interested in all exploitation options including manufacturing. TECNALIA has contributed with partial characterization but he has not rights on the commercial exploitation the result. Result n. 2: Deposition of catalyst on dedicated structure This result refers to the specific procedure for the deposition of catalyst on a support. HYBRID is the main contributor to this result. He is interested in all exploitation option including manufacturing. TECNALIA has contributed with partial characterization but he has not rights on the result. Result n.3: Membrane for hydrogen separation Pd-based membranes have been developed by direct deposition of thin dense metal layers (< 5 µm) onto porous ceramic and metallic tubular supports by simultaneous electroless plating (ELP). The result includes all the process steps needed for development of membranes, including the surface modification of ceramic and metallic porous supports to allow the deposition of thin film Pb-based selective layers (i.e. interdifussion barrier layers,..). Membranes could be used for hydrogen separation at high temperature and for their integration in reforming membrane reactors (as well as other CMR). This result has been generated by TECNALIA. He is interested in all the exploitation options including manufacturing Result n. 4: Sealing procedure for Pd-based tubular supported membranes. The exploitable result is a sealing based on a graphite ferrule together with a Swagelok fitting for integration ceramic supported membranes in membrane reactors. If the membrane support is robust enough, this sealing is leak-tight and stable at 550-600 ºC for hundreds of hours. Compared to other sealing solutions (e.g., brazing), the cost of this sealing could be an important drawback for its exploitation. The sealing could be also applied in other CMR working at lower temperatures. Both TU/e and TECNALIA has foreground on this result. These partners should elaborate on the possible scenarios of exploitation and draw their joint business plan to maximize cooperation. Result n. 5: Pd-based micro-structured membrane modules and/or reactors The exploitable result is a thin Pd-Ag membrane (≤10 µm) supported on a porous stainless steel permeate section and with a micro-channel feed section. Membranes are developed by the two-step process previously developed by SINTEF. The use of these thin supported membranes in membrane reactors provides higher hydrogen production rate at lower cost than reactors using thicker free standing Pd-based membranes. The membranes can be exploited by a membrane producer within 2-3 years. The key issue for the exploitation of these membranes is the need of long-term durable membranes. This aspect is being investigated and it would need further research. This result has been generated by SINTEF. Result n. 6: Design of Catalytic membrane reactors. A reforming membrane reactor allows to reduce the number of components needed for production and purification of hydrogen compared to conventional technology. The reactor brings increased efficiency and decreased costs to the process. The technology will be of most interest to companies involved in process and chemical engineering.



Two designs have been addressed in the REFORCELL project: membrane micro-channel reactor and Membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor. First reactor has been developed by SINTEF at lab scale. The present result is related to the design of the membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor. Two partners (TU/e and HYGEAR) are mainly involved in the result with POLIMI contributing as well. These partners should elaborate on the possible scenarios of exploitation and draw their joint business plan to maximize cooperation and benefits. Cross licensing might be a winning approach. Result n. 7: Membrane reactors modelling and simulation. Numerical tools for simulation and modelling of the reactor. This is an interesting tool, which could be complementary to result n. 6. Two partners (TU/e and HYGEAR) are mainly involved in the result with POLIMI contributing as well. These partners should elaborate on the possible scenarios of exploitation and draw their joint business plan to maximize cooperation. Result n. 8: LCA model for catalysts, membranes and reactors Quantis is the service/consultancy provider who might be interested to act as licensor of LCA method and relevant software. Because LCA will be based for the first stage on the data provided by WP5 (process simulation) and for the second stage on the data provided by WP6 and WP7 (the pilots), the corresponding main partners (i.e. TU/e, HYGEAR, ICI, CEA, SOPRANO) shall also be involved in the result. Result n. 9: Reactor prototype Membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor prototype. This result is very much linked to result n.7 and should be considered together. HYGEAR is the manufacturer within the consortium. They might need some kind of licenses from the other partners. These latter could also be interested in granting licenses to third parties. An open discussion among concerned partners could clarify and optimize exploitation. With a reforming membrane reactor the number of components needed for production and purification of hydrogen are reduced to one single stage. The fluidized bed membrane reformer can potentially operate with better uniformity of temperature compared to packed bed. Markets for hydrogen production from natural gas include hydrogen refuelling stations, small commercial applications (stores, malls, restaurants, etc), and customers for small scale hydrocarbon processing including ATR, WGS, SMR, POX. The technology could come close to commercial tentatively after 2018, after further needed R&D milestones are achieved: proven long term tests at integrated CHP scale, engineering for reactor cost optimization, and engineering for BOP optimization. The designs could be patented. Result n. 10: BoP for CHP system The BoP used for the CHP system is designed and setup to improve the system efficiency, limiting system costs, through a combination of commercial components and ad hoc designed components. This result is generated by four partners (CEA, POLIMI, ICI and SOPRANO). Two are industrial partners manufacturing the component. They might need some kind of licenses from the other partners. These latter could also be interested in granting licenses to third parties. An open discussion among concerned partners could clarify and optimize exploitation Result n. 11: Control for membrane based CHP system Compact real time process controller (data acquisition, process control and regulation) made to operate in harsh environment and intended to be used in high performances applications. This system includes a DSP microcontroller and 4 analogue or digital input/output modules. This result is generated by three partners (ICI, POLIMI, SOPRANO). Two other partners will also contribute as result nº 12 (HYGEAR) and result nº 13 (CEA) are integrated in the the overall control of the CHP system. An open discussion among concerned partners could clarify and optimize exploitation.



Result n. 12: Control for Membrane reformers This control improves the system safety and efficiency, matching the ATR reactor needs with the fuel cell stack and BoP needs. HYGEAR and POLIMI are the partners with foreground. These partners should elaborate on the possible scenarios of exploitation. Result n. 13: Fuel CELL Fuel cell adapted to the system developed. This result has been generated by CEA. Part of the design was already patented Exploitation plans: Two main final results are developed in the frame of REFORCELL: the membrane reactor prototype and the m-CHP system. These results include other interim foregrounds. As the results have achieved different TRL levels, different R&D activities are still needed for each result to be clearly exploitable. i) ATR membrane reactor prototype REFORCELL project is focused on the development of an advanced membrane reformer for CHP- fuel cell systems. For the exploitation of the technology the REFORCELL consortium evaluated the market potential and future steps in order to transfer the concept from the lab to the market. The exploitation of the result of REFORCELL does not narrow down to the use of the integrated process, but also includes the use of single technologies (e.g. catalyst or membranes) for diverse applications. The technologies developed in REFORCELL were tested independently in the project at lab scale: i) catalysts in WP3 and WP5, and ii) membranes in WP4 and WP5. The results from integration of membranes and catalyst at lab scale in WP5 were not conclusive due to short lifetime of the materials when testing under fluidisation conditions. Tests at pilot scale in WP6 could not prove the concept with its full capabilities because the tests could only be performed without hydrogen extraction. Before exploitation, the membrane reactor should prove stable performance and reliable operation (MTBF > 1000 h) under reactive conditions and with extraction of hydrogen. The description of the exploitation plans takes into consideration the limitations in the information derived from the tests on the system and suggests a set of milestones to be considered in the road towards exploitation. The outlook of a feasible roadmap for exploitation of the ATR-MR technology is detailed hereafter. Technology TRL Next steps Time to market Catalyst 4 • Durability tests (>500 h)

• Verify replacement rate (>2 yr) • Develop business case

2 yr

Membranes 4 • Manufacturing process homogenization • Evaluate metallic supported and/or

longer membranes • Improve sealing • Durability tests (>500 h) • Manufacturing upscaling

2 yr

ATR-MR Process 3 • Engineer for different sizes, or modular design

• Implement new sealing technique • Durability tests (1000-3000 h) at

demonstration scale • Evaluate market and value proposition

4 yr



Milestones suggested:

1) Extend market analysis of D6.6 to complete CHP concept evaluating necessary partnerships with utilities creating opportunities for implementing leasing and contracting models for CHP solutions

2) Revamp the reactor in order to adopt new generation sealing technique 3) Evaluate metal supported and longer membranes. 4) Evaluate economic effect of scaling up: multiple modular ATR-MR vs single reactor 5) Evaluate longer durability and stability tests at pilot scale (e.g. 1000-3000 h) under realistic

operating conditions See deliverable “D9.4 Exploitation plans relevant to membrane reactor” for further details. ii) m-CHP system The final main result of the REFORCELL was to deliver a 5kWe m-CHP system based on an advanced ATR catalytic membrane reactor. Therefore, a feasible roadmap for the m-CHP system should take into account the previous ATR-MR roadmap (section 7.1) together to the R&D developments still needed due to the status achieved by the end of the project. Despite having developed other main components (i.e. Fuel Cell stack) and having defined / designed the BoP components for the final integration/assembling, the complete m-CHP system was not assembled and validated by the end of the project due to the liquidation of SOPRANO. Before exploitation, the m-CHP system should prove stable performance and reliable operation (MTBF > 10000 h). The description of the exploitation plans takes into consideration the limitations in the information derived from the tests on the system and suggests a set of milestones to be considered in the road towards exploitation. The outlook of a feasible roadmap for exploitation of the m-CHP system is detailed hereafter. Technology TRL Next steps Time to market Catalyst 4 • Durability tests (>500 h)

• Verify replacement rate (>2 yr) • Develop business case

2 yr

Membranes 4 • Manufacturing process homogenization • Evaluate metallic supported and/or

longer membranes • Improve sealing • Durability tests (>500 h) • Manufacturing upscaling

2 yr

Fuel Cell 4 • Durability tests (>5000 h). • Engineer for different sizes, or modular

design • Evaluate market and value proposition

2 yr

BoP components 3 • Engineer for different sizes, or modular design.

• Evaluate market and value proposition.

2 yr

ATR-MR Process 3 • Engineer for different sizes, or modular design.

• Implement new sealing technique • Durability tests (1000-3000 h) at

demonstration scale. • Evaluate market and value proposition.

4 yr

m-CHP system 3 • Engineer for different sizes, or modular design

6 yr



• Durability tests (>10000 h) at demonstration scale

• Evaluate market and value proposition Milestones suggested:

1) Extend market analysis to complete CHP concept evaluating necessary partnerships with utilities creating opportunities for implementing leasing and contracting models for CHP solutions

2) Revamp the reactor in order to adopt new generation sealing technique. 3) Evaluate metal supported and longer membranes. 4) Evaluate economic effect of scaling up: multiple modular ATR-MR vs single reactor 5) Evaluated longer durability and stability test of the Fuel Cell stack (> 5000 h). 6) Evaluate longer durability and stability tests of the ATR-MR pilot (e.g. 1000-3000 h) under

realistic operating conditions. 7) Evaluate longer durability and stability tests at pilot scale (>10000 h) under realistic operating

conditions



IPRs and exploitation claims

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Partner/No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

TECNALIA B U B F M U L O B F M U L O B F M U L O B U U U L O U U U B

TU/e F U L O F U L O B B F U L O B U B F M U L O B F M U L O B U U

CEA U U F U L O F U L O U B F ULO

POLIMI U B U B F M U L O U U F B U L O B F U L O F U

SINTEF U U B U L O B U L O B F U L O B F M U L O U U

ICI U U U U B F M U L O F M U L O U U

HYGEAR U B U U B F U B F U B F M U B F M U F M U F M U U

SOPRANO U U U U U B F M U F M U U

HYBRID B F M U L O B F M U L O U

QUANTIS B F M U O

JRC

Background (B), Foreground (F), making them and selling them (M); by using them internally to make something else for sale (U); lo license them to 3rd parties (L); to provide services such as consultancy, etc…(O).




Societal implications FCH JU Grant Agreement number: 278997












4.3. Report on societal implications

A General Information (completed automatically when Grant Agreement number is entered. FCH JU Grant Agreement Number: 278997 Title of Project: Advanced Multi-Fuel Reformer for Fuel Cell CHP Systems Name and Title of Coordinator: Dr. José Luis Viviente & Mr. Alberto Garcia B Ethics 1. Did you have ethicists or others with specific experience of ethical issues involved

in the project?

Yes No

2. Please indicate whether your project involved any of the following issues (tick box):

YES

INFORMED CONSENT • Did the project involve children? No • Did the project involve patients or persons not able to give consent? No • Did the project involve adult healthy volunteers? No • Did the project involve Human Genetic Material? No • Did the project involve Human biological samples? No • Did the project involve Human data collection? No

RESEARCH ON HUMAN EMBRYO/FOETUS • Did the project involve Human Embryos? No • Did the project involve Human Foetal Tissue / Cells? No • Did the project involve Human Embryonic Stem Cells? No PRIVACY • Did the project involve processing of genetic information or personal data (eg. health, sexual lifestyle, ethnicity, political opinion, religious or philosophical conviction)

No

• Did the project involve tracking the location or observation of people? No RESEARCH ON ANIMALS • Did the project involve research on animals? No • Were those animals transgenic small laboratory animals? No • Were those animals transgenic farm animals? No • Were those animals cloning farm animals? No • Were those animals non-human primates? No RESEARCH INVOLVING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES • Use of local resources (genetic, animal, plant etc) No • Benefit to local community (capacity building ie access to healthcare, education etc) No

DUAL USE • Research having potential military / terrorist application No

C Workforce Statistics No

3 Workforce statistics for the project: Please indicate in the table below the number of people who worked on the project (on a headcount basis).

Type of Position Number of Women Number of Men

Scientific Coordinator 1 Work package leader 9 Experienced researcher (i.e. PhD holders) 11 29 PhD Students 1 Other 11 36 4. How many additional researchers (in companies and universities) were recruited

specifically for this project?

Of which, indicate the number of men: Of which, indicate the number of women:



D Gender Aspects 5 Did you carry out specific Gender Equality Actions under the project ?

Yes No

6 Which of the following actions did you carry out and how effective were they? Not at all

effective Very

effective

Design and implement an equal opportunity policy Set targets to achieve a gender balance in the workforce Organise conferences and workshops on gender Actions to improve work-life balance Other: SINTEF aims at gender equality when employing new staff

7 Was there a gender dimension associated with the research content – i.e. wherever people were the focus of the research as, for example, consumers, users, patients or in trials, was the issue of gender considered and addressed?

Yes- please specify

No

E Synergies with Science Education

8 Did your project involve working with students and/or school pupils (e.g. open days, participation in science festivals and events, prizes/competitions or joint projects)?

Yes- please specify: 1 student involved in experiments during his training period (CEA). Several MSc and BSc students worked on the project for their final thesis (TU/e)

No

9 Did the project generate any science education material (e.g. kits, websites, explanatory booklets, DVDs)?

Yes- please specify: project website

No

F Interdisciplinarity

10 Which disciplines (see list below) are involved in your project? Main discipline13: 1.3; 2.2; 2.3 Associated discipline13: Associated discipline13:

G Engaging with Civil society and policy makers 11a Did your project engage with societal actors beyond the research

community? (if 'No', go to Question 14)

Yes No

11b If yes, did you engage with citizens (citizens' panels / juries) or organised civil society (NGOs, patients' groups etc.)?

No Yes- in determining what research should be performed

13 Insert number from list below (Frascati Manual)



Yes - in implementing the research Yes, in communicating /disseminating / using the results of the project

11c In doing so, did your project involve actors whose role is mainly to organise the dialogue with citizens and organised civil society (e.g. professional mediator; communication company, science museums)?

Yes No

12 Did you engage with government / public bodies or policy makers (including international organisations)

No Yes- in framing the research agenda Yes - in implementing the research agenda Yes, in communicating /disseminating / using the results of the project

13a Will the project generate outputs (expertise or scientific advice) which could be used by policy makers?

Yes – as a primary objective (please indicate areas below- multiple answers possible) Yes – as a secondary objective (please indicate areas below - multiple answer possible) No

13b If Yes, in which fields? Agriculture Audiovisual and Media Budget Competition Consumers Culture Customs Development Economic and Monetary Affairs Education, Training, Youth Employment and Social Affairs

Energy Enlargement Enterprise Environment External Relations External Trade Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Food Safety Foreign and Security Policy Fraud Humanitarian aid

X

Human rights Information Society Institutional affairs Internal Market Justice, freedom and security Public Health Regional Policy Research and Innovation Space Taxation Transport

X X

13c If Yes, at which level? Local / regional levels National level European level International level

http://europa.eu/pol/agr/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/av/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/financ/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/comp/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/cons/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/cult/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/cust/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/dev/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/emu/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/emu/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/educ/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/socio/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/ener/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/enlarg/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/enter/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/env/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/ext/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/comm/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/fish/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/food/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/cfsp/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/fraud/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/hum/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/rights/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/infso/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/inst/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/singl/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/justice/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/health/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/reg/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/rd/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/tax/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/pol/trans/index_en.htm



H Use and dissemination

14 How many Articles were published/accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals?

8

To how many of these is open access14 provided? 0

How many of these are published in open access journals?

How many of these are published in open repositories?

To how many of these is open access not provided? 8

Please check all applicable reasons for not providing open access: publisher's licensing agreement would not permit publishing in a repository no suitable repository available no suitable open access journal available no funds available to publish in an open access journal lack of time and resources lack of information on open access other: ……………

15 How many new patent applications (‘priority filings’) have been made? ("Technologically unique": multiple applications for the same invention in different jurisdictions should be counted as just one application of grant).

0

16 Indicate how many of the following Intellectual Property Rights were applied for (give number in each box).

Trademark 0

Registered design 0

Other 0

17 How many spin-off companies were created / are planned as a direct result of the project?

0

Indicate the approximate number of additional jobs in these companies:

18 Please indicate whether your project has a potential impact on employment, in comparison with the situation before your project:

Increase in employment, or In small & medium-sized enterprises Safeguard employment, or In large companies Decrease in employment, None of the above / not relevant to the project Difficult to estimate / not possible to quantify

19 For your project partnership please estimate the employment effect resulting directly from your participation in Full Time Equivalent (FTE = one person working fulltime for a year) jobs:

Difficult to estimate / not possible to quantify

Indicate figure: 41

14 Open Access is defined as free of charge access for anyone via the internet.



I Media and Communication to the general public

20 As part of the project, were any of the beneficiaries professionals in communication or media relations?

Yes No

21 As part of the project, have any beneficiaries received professional media / communication training / advice to improve communication with the general public?

Yes No

22 Which of the following have been used to communicate information about your project to the general public, or have resulted from your project?

Press Release Coverage in specialist press Media briefing Coverage in general (non-specialist) press TV coverage / report Coverage in national press Radio coverage / report Coverage in international press Brochures /posters / flyers Website for the general public / internet DVD /Film /Multimedia Event targeting general public (festival, conference,

exhibition, science café)

23 In which languages are the information products for the general public produced?

Language of the coordinator English Other language(s) Question F-10: Classification of Scientific Disciplines according to the Frascati Manual 2002 (Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development, OECD 2002): FIELDS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. NATURAL SCIENCES 1.1 Mathematics and computer sciences [mathematics and other allied fields: computer sciences and other allied subjects

(software development only; hardware development should be classified in the engineering fields)] 1.2 Physical sciences (astronomy and space sciences, physics and other allied subjects) 1.3 Chemical sciences (chemistry, other allied subjects) 1.4 Earth and related environmental sciences (geology, geophysics, mineralogy, physical geography and other

geosciences, meteorology and other atmospheric sciences including climatic research, oceanography, vulcanology, palaeoecology, other allied sciences)

1.5 Biological sciences (biology, botany, bacteriology, microbiology, zoology, entomology, genetics, biochemistry, biophysics, other allied sciences, excluding clinical and veterinary sciences)

2 ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 2.1 Civil engineering (architecture engineering, building science and engineering, construction engineering, municipal

and structural engineering and other allied subjects) 2.2 Electrical engineering, electronics [electrical engineering, electronics, communication engineering and systems,

computer engineering (hardware only) and other allied subjects] 2.3. Other engineering sciences (such as chemical, aeronautical and space, mechanical, metallurgical and materials

engineering, and their specialised subdivisions; forest products; applied sciences such as geodesy, industrial chemistry, etc.; the science and technology of food production; specialised technologies of interdisciplinary fields, e.g. systems analysis, metallurgy, mining, textile technology and other applied subjects)



3. MEDICAL SCIENCES 3.1 Basic medicine (anatomy, cytology, physiology, genetics, pharmacy, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology and

immunohaematology, clinical chemistry, clinical microbiology, pathology) 3.2 Clinical medicine (anaesthesiology, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, surgery, dentistry,

neurology, psychiatry, radiology, therapeutics, otorhinolaryngology, ophthalmology) 3.3 Health sciences (public health services, social medicine, hygiene, nursing, epidemiology) 4. AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES 4.1 Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and allied sciences (agronomy, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, horticulture, other

allied subjects) 4.2 Veterinary medicine 5. SOCIAL SCIENCES 5.1 Psychology 5.2 Economics 5.3 Educational sciences (education and training and other allied subjects) 5.4 Other social sciences [anthropology (social and cultural) and ethnology, demography, geography (human, economic

and social), town and country planning, management, law, linguistics, political sciences, sociology, organisation and methods, miscellaneous social sciences and interdisciplinary , methodological and historical S1T activities relating to subjects in this group. Physical anthropology, physical geography and psychophysiology should normally be classified with the natural sciences].

6. HUMANITIES 6.1 History (history, prehistory and history, together with auxiliary historical disciplines such as archaeology,

numismatics, palaeography, genealogy, etc.) 6.2 Languages and literature (ancient and modern) 6.3 Other humanities [philosophy (including the history of science and technology) arts, history of art, art criticism,

painting, sculpture, musicology, dramatic art excluding artistic "research" of any kind, religion, theology, other fields and subjects pertaining to the humanities, methodological, historical and other S1T activities relating to the subjects in this group] .

Documents

PROJECT FINAL REPORT - CORDIS...Project Final Report. “Advance Multi-Fuel reformer for Fuel Cell CHP Systems” Acronym: ReforCELL. Grant Agreement number: 278997 Period covered