Metrology for Decarbonising the Gas Grid.

The project will develop methods and reference materials to support the development of flow metering specifications, gas composition, physical properties and safety (including leak monitoring). Existing flow meters will be tested for compatibility with hydrogen, and primary flow standards developed to meter carbon dioxide and CCS mixtures.

Metrology Support for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage

The European Commission’s Green Deal aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) named as a priority. CCUS begins by removing CO₂ from emissions before release. The gas can then be permanently stored or reused in industry. However, CCUS is not 100 % emission-free. Some products will reemit CO₂ over time and leaks are a factor throughout. Currently, no traceable facilities exist to calibrate CO₂flow meters for the full range of CCUS conditions and existing techniques for monitoring leaks have not been validated. New methods are required to quantify CO₂ emissions from alternative energy sources (e.g., biogas) to support the goals of the Green Deal, and the reemission from CCUS products over time has also not been characterised, which has led to a lack of understand of the full CO₂ lifecycle.

This project will produce facilities for CO₂ flow monitoring, as well as primary standards for evaluating flow meters. On-line sensors for real-time monitoring will also be developed. The project will validate leak monitors for both pipelines and storage sites and will produce good practice guides for measurement and sampling methods. It will also test the suitability of long- and short-term storage materials. Finally, a method will be developed to characterise reemission from CCUS products. These outcomes will improve measurement accuracy across the CO₂ lifecycle and improve confidence in available monitoring devices. This will encourage faster uptake of CCUS methods which will be crucial in meeting the targets of the Green Deal.

EURAMET EMPIR 2019. Reference: 21GRD06

Objectives:

• Develop innovative process and products research. Improve collaboration with BioEcoUVa experts and promote research at the frontiers of knowledge.
• Internationalization: Improve participation in international projects.
• Transfer of knowledge: Transfer our knowledge to develop new processes and materials.

Our challenge is to develop innovative biorefineries for the fractionation of biomass and its conversion into:

• • Key chemical compounds
  • Cellular polymers and renewable foams
  • Bioenergy.

Advanced Solutions for Hydrogen Storage. (PID2021-125749OB-I00)

The European Union is committed to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. The European Green Deal is a direct translation of this ambition, being one of its goals to ensure net zero greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2050. Five sectors emit the bulk of the European Unions greenhouse gases: 28% comes from transportation, 26% from industry, 23% from power, 13% from buildings, and 13% from agriculture. Across sectors, fossil fuel combustion is the biggest source of GHGs, accounting for 80% of emissions. Decarbonising the energy systems implies, amongst other solutions, the use of green hydrogen as energy carrier.

Hydrogen combines energy density, fluid-handling capacity and zero emissions when converted into other forms of energy. When hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity, the whole energy system becomes green and sustainable. Furthermore, green hydrogen offers an ideal energy storage solution in a flexible and reliable energy integrated system. This project paves the way to storage electricity into green hydrogen within an optimised and affordable solution, being aligned with the thematic priority 5, Climate, energy and mobility.

The main objective of this project is the contribution to the solution of the energy futures dilemma of energy security, flexible and smart systems integration, and sustainable development with flexible and affordable green energy storage through the thermophysical characterisation of sustainable fluid fuels (complex systems with hydrogen) to be deployed during the energy transition period towards the net zero GHG emission economy. The use of Ionic Liquids+ solid storage materials and liquid organic hydrogen carriers will facilitate new solutions for hydrogen storage and transport. Using high accurate experimental techniques, key properties such as density, viscosity, heat capacity and solubility will be determined in the ranges of utilization of the mixtures under study. These fundamental experimental data are needed to optimise the models required to understand the behaviour of those fluid mixtures and the design and optimization of the generation/conversion/storage/transport/use energy vectors chain, which in turn enables the integration of these fuels in the new energy systems. Moreover, the effect of impurities, water in particular,

in the properties of hydrogen as well as the performance of ionic liquids and the liquid organic hydrogen carriers will be studied. A humidity generator will be designed for the measurement of water content in hydrogen; a new primary standard hygrometer will be developed using the humidity generator and the quasi-spherical microwave resonator.

The proposal will impact in energy producers and distribution networks; fuel cells and electrolysers manufacturers; transport, heat and industry sectors; and end-users. All of them will benefit from an alternative technology to supply green energy.

Metrology for trace water in ultra-pure process gases

Trace water is the single largest matrix contaminant in ultra-high purity (UHP) process gases. Even though the manufacturing of UHP gases serves many of the key technology areas, such as high-value semiconductor manufacturing, trace water measurements are still lacking measurement traceability in the relevant ranges and matrix gases.

Metrology for Advanced Hydrogen Storage Solutions

The European Union is committed to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. The European Green Deal is a direct translation of this ambition, being one of its goals to ensure net zero greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2050. Five sectors emit the bulk of the European Unions greenhouse gases: 28% comes from transportation, 26% from industry, 23% from power, 13% from buildings, and 13% from agriculture. Across sectors, fossil fuel combustion is the biggest source of GHGs, accounting for 80% of emissions. Decarbonising the energy systems implies, amongst other solutions, the use of green hydrogen as energy carrier.

Hydrogen combines energy density, fluid-handling capacity and zero emissions when converted into other forms of energy. When hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity, the whole energy system becomes green and sustainable. Furthermore, green hydrogen offers an ideal energy storage solution in a flexible and reliable energy integrated system. This project paves the way to storage electricity into green hydrogen within an optimised and affordable solution, being aligned with the thematic priority 5, Climate, energy and mobility. This main objective of this project is the contribution to the solution of the energy futures dilemma of energy security, flexible and smart systems integration and sustainable development with flexible and affordable green energy storage through the thermophysical characterisation of sustainable fluid fuels (complex systems with hydrogen) to be deployed during the energy transition period towards the net zero GHG emission economy. The use of Ionic Liquids + solid storage materials and liquid organic hydrogen carriers will facilitate new solutions for hydrogen storage and transport. Using high accurate experimental techniques, key properties such as density, viscosity, heat capacity and solubility will be determined in the ranges of utilization of the mixtures under study. These fundamental experimental data are needed to optimise the models required to understand the behaviour of those fluid mixtures and the design and optimization of the generation/conversion/storage/transport/use energy vectors chain, which in turn enables the integration of these fuels in the new energy systems. Moreover, the effect of impurities, water in particular, in the properties of hydrogen as well as the performance of ionic liquids and the liquid organic hydrogen carriers will be studied. A humidity generator will be designed for the measurement of water content in hydrogen; a new primary standard hygrometer will be developed using the humidity generator and the quasi-spherical microwave resonator.

The research project will impact in energy producers and distribution networks; fuel cells and electrolysers manufacturers; transport, heat and industry sectors; and end-users. All of them will benefit from an alternative technology to supply green energy.

EURAMET EMPIR 2019. Reference: 19ENG03