FAQs for Industrial Scale Thermal Energy Users

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For the hard-to-abate sector that must decarbonise economically, InfigoLabs' patented Hydrox Combustion Technology®, delivers electrification of high temperature heat at high efficiency (>92%). Unlike other power-to-heat solutions (e.g., thermal block storage), the Hydrox Cycle® delivers sustained thermal energy that does not vary in temperature or heat content and incorporates cost-effective green energy storage (unlike direct electrification) in the form of gaseous stores, reducing the levelised cost of heat.

Hydrox Cycle® is electrolysis technology-agnostic; although we recommend the use of capillary-fed electrolytic cells (95% efficient, bubble-free operation) which will result in an overall efficiency of the Hydrox Cycle®, exceeding 90%. 

Notwithstanding this however, renewable energy economics are influenced by two major levers: (1) very low, and reducing generation costs & (2) the selected power-to-heat technology's ability to manage the highly variable nature of renewable generation. 

InfigoLabs' Hydrox Cycle® incorporates the most inexpensive, non-degrading "battery" in the form of gaseous stores, allowing continual use of cheap renewable energy during periods when it is not available. As example, a 3000 TPD cement plant needs approximately 106MW of thermal energy, and the Hydrox Cycle® can supply sustained heat to the cement plant for 4 hours with 11 tonnes of hydrogen storage, drastically slashing the levelised cost of heat produced. In contrast, direct electrification (not yet proven for cement applications) cannot affordably store 425 MWh of thermal energy, good for daily discharge. Diurnal discharge of a big Li-ion battery will render its life to less than 5 years. (Please note that big-batteries primarily serve Frequency Control Ancillary Services on the grid, and not provided for diurnal deep discharge).

Our technology is fully retrofittable.

The Hydrox Combustion Technology® utilises a reactor, the operating pressure of which can be varied.  This enables producing the high temperature heat at conditions that can be retrofit to existing applications without necessarily involving secondary heat transfer media. This is of particular relevance for fully retrofitting and supplying large quantitites of heat to existing cement plants, steel plants, petrochemical steam crackers, fertilizer steam methane reformers, etc.

Our technology is modular.

Besides being scalable, the Hydrox Combustion Technology® can be configured to be modular, with multiple streams arranged in parallel in a very cost-effective manner.  This allows for greatly improving the thermal generation reliability, maintainability and availability.

Our technology has the potential to reuse condensate and feedwater components.

The Hydrox Combustion Technology® replaces the fossil-fuel fired steam generator or boiler when incorporated as a part of the Hydrox Cycle®.  However, the Hydrox Cycle® can potentially reuse the entire steam distribution and condensate recovery system so that the condensate water can be reused for producing the hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, thus completing the Hydrox Cycle®.  Potential reuse of existing equipment will have to be studied, and is a service InfigoLabs can provide.

Our technology has true zero emissions eliminating the flue stack.

The Hydrox Combustion Technology® is a stackless system and does not have any direct emissions to the ambient environment.  Thus, by adopting this system your process facility completely eliminates harmful NOx, SOx, CO and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions.  In addition, this technology completely eliminates carbon dioxide emissions directly benefiting your pathway to decarbonising your industry.

Electricity In, Heat Out.

Other than grid power, the InfigoLabs technology does not require any continuous stream of utilities to operate.  Primarily, the patent-pending Hydrox Cycle, enabled by the patent-pending Hydrox Combustion Technology converts grid supplied electrical energy into high grade (high temperature +1200 degrees C / 2200 degrees F) thermal energy.  Being closed loop, this does not impose a water footprint, other than a small bleed and makeup required to maintain the water chemistry.  The patent-pending Hydrox Cycle, on occasions, may utilise an inert diluent, and this can be mostly recovered in the Hydrox Cycle for reuse. Thus, other than grid-supplied electricity there are no major utilities required to operate the patent-pending Hydrox Cycle enabled by the patent-pending Hydrox Combustion Technology.  If your current process already consumes steam / water into the process, this will remain unchanged, and may require makeup, as per the current plant operations.  Startup and shutdown operations will require small amounts of inert gas such as nitrogen for purging, as is typical of any combustion process, to ensure safe startup / shutdown.

The comparison between traditional combustion and the Hydrox Combustion Technology® explains how safe combustion of hydrogen with oxygen is achieved as part of the Hydrox Cycle®, using the UniPhi Control System®.