Heavy Industry (petrochemicals, cement, steel, chemicals) requires large quantities of thermal energy at high temperature, which currently must be generated by direct combustion of fossil fuels. And this percentage is expected to double under business-as-usual scenarios.
As such, these sectors have a vital role to play in halting global average temperature rises if the world is to meet the Paris climate agreement objective of limiting global warming to well below 2°C by 2050.
Until now, electrifying the generation of high temperature thermal energy has been a technical and economic challenge classifying this as a "hard-to-abate" sector.
InfigoLabs has invented an innovative technology solution for the electrification of industrial heat at an industrial scale for decarbonising the hard-to-abate sector.
The Hydrox Cycle® and Hydrox Combustion Technology® are technology-agnostic to the upstream electrolysis process, although use of capillary-fed electrolytic cells with 95% efficiency are recommended. Thus, our Customers may choose the most cost-effective electrolysis process, considering life cycle costs.
The Hydrox Cycle® incorporates very affordable energy storage in the form of gaseous stores. 11 tonnes of hydrogen stores approximately 425MWh of thermal energy (~4 hours of thermal energy required by a 3000 TPD cement plant). This is a massive lever reducing the levelised cost of produced heat, unlike direct electrification, which cannot store electrons affordably at the rate required by the hard-to-abate sector.
By varying the reactor operating pressure, InfigoLabs technology can be retrofit to existing plants, creating a significant value proposition. Multiple trains can be configured in parallel to maximise reliability, availability and maintainability
Unlike other power-to-heat solutions (e.g., thermal block storage or biomass) the Hydrox Cycle® delivers sustained thermal energy that does not vary in temperature or heat content.
In processes that do not consume the steam, the water utilised in the electrolysis can be recovered as condensate for reuse. A small bleed and makeup stream may be required to maintain water chemistry.
Uses safe and controlled conditions and produces high temperature steam at precise conditions required by the industrial process.
Hydrox Combustion Technology® utilises an affordable refractory lined reactor, eliminating any metallurgical constraints in achieving the high temperatures required by the hard-to-abate sector.
Electrifies high-grade thermal energy with grid electricity as input and thermal energy as output with true zero emissions to the atmosphere. This technology literally eliminates the need for a chimney stack.
The Hydrox Cycle® utilises grid-powered electricity (preferably generated from solar, wind, hydro or other carbon-free sources) to electrolytically split water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen gases.
Hydrogen combustion with oxygen is an explosive reaction due to the highly flammable characteristics of hydrogen, and there did not exist a solution to achieve this safely until now.
InfigoLabs has invented the unique zero emissions Hydrox Combustion Technology® (patent pending) that facilitates the safe, controlled and systematic combustion of hydrogen with oxygen to produce steam at high temperatures (+1200 degrees Celcius / +2200 degrees Fahrenheit), only constrained by metallurgical limitations of the reactor design. Higher temperatures can be achieved if required by the industrial process the cycle serves.
The patent pending UniPhi Control System® ensures complete combustion of supplied hydrogen with minimal residual hydrogen or oxygen in the produced high temperature steam.
The high grade heat thus produced, enables electrification of industrial heat, which can then be used in the "hard-to-abate" industrial process (alumina refinery, steel making, green cement, chemical industry and others), thereby lowering energy content of the steam, after which it is condensed and recycled back to the electrolysers for electrolysis, completing the Hydrox Cycle®. Depending on the process conditions, there may be opportunities for energy recovery to improve the overall efficiency of the Hydrox Cycle®.
InfigoLabs takes process safety extremely seriously from the early design phase through to the entire lifecycle of the supplied technology. The Hydrox Combustion Technology® turns conventional combustion process on its head to address the extremely wide flammability range of hydrogen in oxygen (4% LFL to 94% HFL at ambient conditions), the high flame speed and low ignition energy of hydrogen, while ensuring safe and complete combustion of the supplied hydrogen with oxygen. The patent pending UniPhi Control System® further ensures that the produced steam does not contain residual hydrogen or unutilised oxygen.
Click below for a more detailed technical description of the Hydrox Combustion Technology® and the UniPhi Control System®