Hycamite plans to start building its Customer Sample Facility in Kokkola, Finland, in 2022. ABB has been involved from the beginning of the project and has helped Hycamite find the best scalable technical solutions by utilizing ABB’s extensive knowledge and experience.
The companies have agreed on the first delivery package. The ABB Ability™ System 800xA has been selected for Hycamite’s new production facility in Kokkola.
To start the industrial production of emission-free hydrogen and clean solid carbon, ABB brings its strong expertise in automation, measurement technology, electrification and digitalization, across the process industries. The first delivery package to Hycamite’s production facility in Kokkola comprises the 800xA automation system.
“We are very happy to collaborate with Hycamite to promote a new type of hydrogen and carbon production in Kokkola. There is a huge demand for emission-free hydrogen in the industry, and clean carbon is vital for the battery industry,” says Eero Koski, Local Division Manager, ABB Energy Industries.
“Alongside the construction of the pilot facility, we are already developing further projects with Hycamite. We are very much looking to the future and the pilot facility enables us to demonstrate to our customers how this will work on an industrial scale whilst also receiving feedback from them on the concept,” Koski explains.
“Our first delivery, the ABB 800xA automation platform, integrates the facility’s systems and applications, which increases the facility’s energy efficiency and usability, and creates the conditions for scaling the equipment to systems of different sizes.”
Customer Sample Facility in Kokkola
Hycamite plans to start building its Customer Sample Facility this year.
“We are planning to build the facility in Kokkola Industrial Park KIP, thanks to the high demand for our products. With the help of our small pilot facility opened last year, we have also progressed quickly in the development of our process,” shares Laura Rahikka, CEO of Hycamite.
With the help of catalysts developed by Hycamite, hydrogen can be produced sustainably from methane without emissions. The catalysts can be recycled, or they can be made, for example, from otherwise unused industrial effluents.
“In our process, hydrogen can be produced in large quantities at a very competitive price. Our new pyrolysis technology requires only 13 per cent of the energy needed to produce hydrogen by electrolysis,” Rahikka explains.
“The demand for emission-free hydrogen is growing rapidly. The emission-free production of hydrogen produced with catalysts complements the production of hydrogen produced in an electrolysis”, notes Rahikka.
The clean, solid carbon produced in Hycamite’s process is suitable for demanding applications such as Li-ion batteries, composite materials and super condensers.
“Because Hycamite’s solution is a state-of-the-art carbon capture, utilization and storage technology (CCUS), it can also be used to create carbon sinks,” Rahikka says.
The need for emission-free hydrogen is growing rapidly
The background of Hycamite’s new technology lies in the University of Oulu’s long-term applied chemistry research. With Hycamite’s technology, low-carbon hydrogen can also be produced from industrial effluent processes. Thanks to this, the carbon footprint can be reduced even in the production process, where it would not be possible otherwise.
ABB promotes a low-carbon society in accordance with its Sustainability Strategy 2030. The many possibilities of using hydrogen directly as a carbon-free fuel or for storing and transporting renewable energy help significantly in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and integrating renewable energy into industrial value chains all over the world, both in transport and in the energy and construction sectors.
ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimize how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation. www.abb.com
Hycamite TCD Technologies is a Finnish growth company in methane pyrolysis technology whose know-how is based on long-term applied chemistry research at the University of Oulu. Hycamite produces emission-free hydrogen and solid carbon by splitting methane molecules with the help of catalysts they have developed and heat. Hycamite’s pyrolysis technology requires only 13 per cent of the energy needed to produce hydrogen by electrolysis. Catalysts are manufactured sustainably. www.hycamite.com
