Zero electricity solar hydrogen reactor
Sparc Hydrogen is developing an alternative green hydrogen production process to electrolysis, known as photocatalytic water splitting (PWS). No electrolyser is needed, and as PWS eliminates any reliance on electricity at the water-splitting interface, infrastructure requirements are reduced compared to green hydrogen production via electrolysis.
The SPARC hydrogen reactor combines concentrated sunlight with PWS. Being decoupled from the price of electricity, such an approach has the potential for a lower cost, scalable hydrogen production system suitable for a variety of use cases.
Sparc Hydrogen’s photocatalytic water splitting uses concentrated solar energy and a catalyst to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Image courtesy of Sparc Hydrogen
The Sparc Hydrogen joint venture was formed in 2022 between Sparc Technologies, the University of Adelaide and Fortescue, and follows research on PWS undertaken at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University over ten years.
Sparc Hydrogen has accelerated this research, moving its PWS reactor technology from the laboratory into an end-to-end hydrogen production system. The primary outcome is an advanced reactor design which is being incorporated into field-based testing to validate the research outcomes and provide data for a commercial use case.
Sparc Hydrogen is currently developing a pilot plant which utilises concentrated solar mirrors to showcase the technology in a first of its kind facility globally. Utilising by-product heat from the concentrated solar system is an added benefit to the system which holds the potential to drive costs down even further with the SPARC hydrogen reactor.
The project team has improved and updated the reactor design, focusing on maximising the solar to hydrogen ratio for particular photocatalyst materials and capturing by-product heat. The first prototype test in the real world was made possible through CSIRO’s Kickstart program. A beta prototype reactor was installed at CSIRO’s Energy Centre in Newcastle in late 2023 / early 2024, providing valuable data and validating lab results in the real world. Plans are underway for construction of a pilot plant at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus in early 2025.
The Sparc Hydrogen rig collecting concentrated solar energy from the mirror field at CSIRO’ s Energy Centre
The results of the prototyping test confirmed the technical viability of the SPARC hydrogen reactor and progressed the Technology Readiness Level to 5.
Case study date: October 2024
HyResearch record: Concentrated Solar Thermo-Photocatalytic Water Splitting – HyResearch