Innovative Energy Systems (IES) - u.o. HI-SEA, Idrogeno e Fuel Cells

In the Savona laboratory we can find:

The Hi-Sea laboratory, Hydrogen Initiative for Sustainable Energy Application, developed in collaboration with Fincantieri, continues the studies started within the TESEO project: High Efficiency Technologies for On-board Energy and Environmental Sustainability (PON02_00153_2939517). The system has been specifically designed for the evaluation of fuel cell technology applications in the naval sector; it is composed of 8 polymeric membrane type fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks, which boast a high energy density and operate at low temperatures. The 260 kW PEMC Fuel Cell system is available for performance testing and monitoring and diagnostics. The system, powered by pure hydrogen and compressed air, is made up of 8 PEMFC stacks, a modular electrical load and a 60 kW rectifier to simulate integration with battery packs (https://www.youtube.com/ watch? v = WX3nvUfd46o).
The Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (H2FC) Laboratory is a space dedicated to the experimentation of hydrogen technologies, designed to comply with safety regulations for hazardous areas. The H2FC laboratory is equipped with two direct lines from the storage of gas under pressure with a dedicated pressure reducer capable of working with pressures up to 30 bar. The lines are used to supply pure Hydrogen and Nitrogen and compressed air at 10 bar. The H2FC laboratory has been designed to test various systems but in particular fuel cells, created by the University Spinoff Blue Energy Revolution to test its prototypes, made with PEM fuel cells, Electrolysers and Metal Hydride Hydrogen storage systems. The H2FC laboratory is also equipped with other PEM training fuel cells (Ballard Nexa 1200W, Nuvera Power Flow 5000 W) and methanol fuel cell systems

In parallel, other experimental tests were carried out on a methanation reactor which represents a possible solution to use standard technologies of electricity generation with hydro-methane (produced from hydrogen obtained from renewable energy sources and from sequestered CO2). The reaction is carried out on a catalytic bed of Ru-Al2O3 or of Ni-Al2O3 at about 4 bar of pressure and in a temperature range between 300 ° C and 400 ° C.

Finally, a typical problem concerning hydrogen obtained from renewable energy sources concerns the storage technology. For this reason, the laboratory was equipped with metal hydride containers to analyze the dynamic and overall storage performance of these components. In addition, a new experimental facility was developed to analyze aspects related to the chemical accumulation of hydrogen, producing a flow of hydrogen from a 2.5% aqueous solution of NaBH4.

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