"Japanese technology SPERA overcomes many of the intrinsic drawbacks of liquefying hydrogen, which involves compressing or chilling hydrogen gas to cryogenic temperatures — an expensive, energy-intensive process. Instead, the SPERA process involves fixing hydrogen gas to the common petroleum product toluene at ambient temperature. It produces methylcyclohexane as a stable liquid, which can be transported in large volumes using conventional petroleum tankers. At the destination, the methylcyclohexane can be stored in standard tanks for long periods, and when needed, the hydrogen is efficiently separated from the toluene using Chiyoda’s dehydrogenation catalyst. The toluene is recovered for reuse and shipped back to the hydrogenation plant, and the hydrogen is delivered for use at the destination.
Researchers at Chiyoda experimented with finer and finer platinum particles. “At around 1 nanometre — approaching just a few methylcyclohexane molecules in size — we achieved a jump in catalytic activity performance,” says Okada. “That changed everything and opened a new era in catalyst chemistry.”
In 2011, Chiyoda started mass producing their nanoscale methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation catalyst and demonstrated the technology in a pilot plant in 2014. Named SPERA after the Latin for ‘hope’, Chiyoda’s methylcyclohexane technology was inching closer to commercial reality. All that remained was to demonstrate an end-to-end international supply chain.
In April 2020, Chiyoda, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and NYK Line, demonstrated the world’s first end-to-end global hydrogen supply chain, successfully transporting methylcyclohexane produced in Brunei Darussalam to a refinery in Kawasaki, Japan." [1]
Russians with a streamlined oil export system can use this technology to sell solar and wind energy-generated hydrogen to Europe and China.
1. A final link in the global hydrogen supply chain. 24 Mar 2021, Nature, Volume 591 Issue 7851
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