Startup, which was co-founded by U of T researchers, can produce hydrogen without producing CO2

A new way of producing hydrogen from natural gas that does not produce carbon dioxide as a by-product could open up a range of zero-emission alternative energy technologies.

Murray Thomson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, recently spun the innovation off into a company, Aurora Hydrogen, along with co-founders Erin Bobicki, formerly Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, now at the University of Alberta, and Andrew Gillis, who joined the team as CEO.

Hydrogen is attractive as an energy storage medium because it does not contain carbon. When burned as fuel or when burned in a hydrogen fuel cell, the only substance that comes out of the exhaust pipe is pure water. The challenge is to generate the hydrogen at all. One method is to use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. However, this process is energy inefficient as large amounts of electricity are required to produce only small amounts of hydrogen.

Thomson and his co-workers are trying to solve the puzzle by using an approach based on methane pyrolysis, a process that uses heat to break natural gas into hydrogen gas and solid carbon particles. While the heat required for the process is traditionally generated by burning more hydrocarbon fuels, Thomson, who has been researching pyrolysis for decades, recently considered a different approach.

“The question then arose whether the methane could be heated with microwaves, a very efficient heating process. This would require less energy and produce less CO2 than the traditional pyrolysis process, ”says Thomson.

Thomson turned to Bobicki, whose research focused on the application of microwave energy to industrial processes in the mineral processing industry. Under her guidance, the two researchers tested the theory and developed Aurora Hydrogen’s CO2-free hydrogen generation method.

“After talking to Professor Thomson and learning about methane pyrolysis, it became clear that this was an excellent application for microwave technology,” says Bobicki, associate professor at U of A who has a status only associate professor the U of holds T. “We quickly formulated the idea – inspired by a method for reducing uranium oxide – and set about demonstrating a very elegant process.

“It is very exciting to see what innovation can result from interdisciplinary cooperation.”

The use of microwave energy in methane pyrolysis has several advantages. On the one hand, it significantly reduces the energy required to break down the methane. Solid carbon, a by-product, has established markets: it is used to make steel, rubber, asphalt and graphite. And even if the solid carbon arrives in a non-marketable form because it is solid and not gaseous, it is much easier to sequester than CO2.

To test their theory, the team built a laboratory reactor to produce CO2-free hydrogen. After more than four hours of running, they measured an efficiency of around 99 percent, which means that the methane was converted into hydrogen and carbon with minimal by-products.

“We faced many challenges building the reactor, but it was amazing to see our technology work as expected,” said Mehran Dadsetan, a PhD student from U of T Engineering supervised by Thomson. “The ability to validate this technology and move it towards commercialization could have a huge impact on reducing CO2 emissions.”

Gillis, meanwhile, joined Thomson and Bobicki to form Aurora Hydrogen and develop the company’s business side.

“Aurora’s technology is unique in that it not only meets the global need for extremely low-emission hydrogen production, it also enables us to access the energy in natural gas without producing carbon dioxide,” says Gillis.

“We see great interest in the technology from both hydrogen consumers and natural gas producers. In fact, Aurora was recently added to the Energy Stream of the University of Calgary’s Creative Destruction Lab program. ”

As Aurora Hydrogen moves closer to its goal of making low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen energy a reality, it will participate in a field test supported by funding from a consortium of natural gas producers, distributors, and hydrogen producers. In the experiment, hydrogen generated by Aurora will be injected into existing natural gas pipelines, which will then distribute it.

If successful, the attempt would be a positive first step towards decarbonising natural gas pipelines and providing hydrogen energy to industries where a reduction in CO2 emissions could have a major impact worldwide. Hydrogen energy could also be used in applications where the use of batteries is not practical, such as in heavy trucks, ships, trains, and in industries such as steel and cement making.

“It’s great to be part of a team that is working on something that has the potential to do so much good,” she says Fawaz Khan, another graduate of Thomson. “This technology could play a huge role in the global mission to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a better future for all of us.”