HySiLabs raises 13€M in Series A; siloxane liquid carriers for hydrogen
06 February 2023
HySiLabs, a France-based developer of a siloxane liquid carrier for hydrogen, announced a €13-million Series A financing led by Equinor Ventures, and joined by the European Innovation Council Fund, EDP Ventures and PLD Automobile, with the support of historical investors Kreaxi, Région Sud Investissement and CAAP Création. The funding will support the continued development of its technology.
Liquid siloxane hydrogen carrier compounds can be produced from silica compound and/or silicate compound, only requiring hydrogen and/or water and/or silicon and/or oxygen as additional reactant(s) and/or without substantial carbon emissions, preferably without carbon emissions.
Early tests have shown that the carrier, called Hydrosil, is stable and could be safely transported and stored in existing infrastructure at ambient pressure and temperature conditions. The hydrogen can be released on demand. HySiLabs has developed two innovative chemical processes to charge and release H2 in and out of the carrier.
HySiLabs’ patented technology holds the potential to address the fundamental challenge of how to safely and economically transport and store hydrogen at scale. Crucially, HySiLabs’ molecule requires energy to lock hydrogen into the carrier, but none to release it, a major difference with liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) solutions currently contemplated.
In a future where hydrogen production is expected to be shipped to energy demand hubs, this ability to release hydrogen without an energy cost is perceived as highly attractive.
HySiLabs was founded in 2015 by Pierre-Emmanuel Casanova (CBO) and Vincent Lôme PhD (CSO). HySiLabs thoroughly work on several industrial pilots, including H2Gate together with the Port of Amsterdam (storing hydrogen at industrial scale) and QualifHY together with Helion Hydrogen Power (coupling of HySiLabs’ solution with fuel cells). Also, HySiLabs have recently signed an MoU with Vinci Geostock to test underground storage of hydrogen.
In 2022, HySiLabs was selected as French Tech Green20 (development programme for top 20 promising French green tech startups) and won the French CEO of the Year Awards at EU Business News. HySiLabs’ €13-million Series A will be completed through additional capital in a second closing in February 2023.
Resources
Burcher, Benjamin (Saint-Jorioz, FR), Lome, Vincent (Chateaurenard, FR), Benoit, Remy (Villeneuves-les-Avignon, FR) 2023 “Process For Producing And Regenerating Hydrogen Carrier Compounds” US20230002220A1 Hysilabs
Checking around a bit, the biggest attraction of this chemistry is that you don't have to add any energy to release the hydrogen:
https://www.hysilabs.com/technology
Which is handy, as that is at point of use, so all the fiddling around and losses happen where the carrier is produced.
Then there is excellent energy density. I have dug out an ancient (2004) analysis of using silicon for energy storage:
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/21871/1/PROD0000000000079095.pdf
On pages 6 & 7 and the tables there, it looks as though we are talking about an excellent 8MJ/kg, although not only is this old information, not referring specifically to HiSiLabs liquid carrier, but the other figures given for starting product and average are above my pay grade, and I don't understand what they are saying.
But the bottom line is that the energy density looks very good.
The major caveat is how much energy is needed to produce it, and the round trip efficiency.
On page 4 of my very old link, the energy costs for the production of silicon is given as 12MJ/kg, but that is not directly relevant to recycling HySiLabs
It should however be bourne in mind that for the last couple of hundred years we have run society using fossil fuels at efficiencies of perhaps 30% or so, plus free pollutants and GHG.
Anyone got any better figures?
Gryf? you are tremendous at digging out info!
Posted by: Davemart | 06 February 2023 at 02:20 AM
Mike has very kindly provided a link to the relevant patents above.
Such things are way, way above my paygrade, and I rely on the likes of Gryf and peskanov to translate them into forms accessible to mortals.
However, looking through the patent with limited comprehension it appears that they are mainly interested in claiming as broad a coverage of all possible technologies for reconstituting the carrier material, rather than getting too specific on what they think optimal from an energy POV.
So at 0207, they talk about temperatures of 1500 C, which takes a lot of power.
And at the end:
[0236]
In an embodiment according to the present invention, the energy consumption required by the overall siloxane hydrogen carrier of formula (I) and/or formula (II) production process may be comprised between 1 and 200 kWh/kg of produced siloxane, for example between 1 and 35 kWh/kg of produced siloxane.
[0237]
In an embodiment according to the present invention, the energy consumption required by the overall siloxane hydrogen carrier of formula (I) and/or formula (II) regeneration process may be comprised between 1 and 2000 kWh/kg of liberated H2, for example between 1 and 400 kWh/kg of liberated H2.'
So it would appear that the estimated energy costs of production of the carrier is somewhere between minute and absolutely massive!
Elephants and mice are both mammals, but I know which I would rather have sat on me.....
Posted by: Davemart | 06 February 2023 at 03:46 AM
I should perhaps highlight that another major concern about LOHC's, and of course ammonia, is their degree of toxicity.
There are many different potential LOHCs, but only a few are likely to be developed.
Here is a discussion of the topic:
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6040
' 3.3.3. Toxicity and Biodegradability
Considering practical applicability, toxicity and biodegradability of LOHC materials must be evaluated. Owing to the increased benefits of LOHC technology, hazard assessment of molecules needs to be examined to minimize negative impacts on human health and the environment. As rated by the Toxicity Potential Indicator (TPI), values cover the range of “0” for non-toxic to “100” for extremely toxic [60]. Generally, toxicity assessment is more common for dehydrogenation counterparts than hydrogenated molecules [23]. For example, the safety data for the technical dibenzyl toluene mixture (Marlotherm SH; MSH) is described as low risk, and ecotoxicological problems are less than common diesel and are comparatively more favorable than NEC [61]. In addition, biodegradability is another key factor of a LOHC system. In this scenario, nitrogen-containing molecules typically have better biodegradability than alicyclic molecules, as reported by Crabtree [24]. Very recently, Markiewicz et al. reported hazard assessment of quinaldine, three-different alkyl carbazoles, benzene, and toluene based on mutagenicity, cytotoxicity, acute aquatic toxicity and biodegradability of each LOHC system [62]. Therefore, study on toxicity and biodegradability of LOHC molecules are imperative for developing LOHC systems.
In addition, there are several factors such as flashpoint, ignition temperature, density, viscosity, and surface tensions, that need be considered for the development of LOHC systems. Though these properties are not addressed to the full extent in the literature for all LOHC molecules, only few molecules are well-documented due to their utilization in mobile applications [61,63].'
HiSiLabs reckon their solution is non-toxic.
Posted by: Davemart | 06 February 2023 at 07:39 AM
I had a quick rummage to see if siloxane is as non toxic as claimed:
https://www.silicones.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Siloxanes-factsheet_simplified_FINAL.pdf
' Because of the differences between carbon and silicon-based substances highlighted above, the environmental effects of siloxanes cannot be predicted by traditional methods that were developed for carbon-based materials. The traditional PBT criteria are, for that reason, not appropriate for assessing the risk of siloxanes on the environment.'
Hmm.
Posted by: Davemart | 06 February 2023 at 07:47 AM
Not much information on this. H2 on demand requires recycling silicates.
US Army did something similar with “NANO-GALVANIC ALUMINUM BASED POWDER”.
https://www.arl.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/AlNanogalvanicPowder-TechnicalOverview.pdf
Limited applications.
Posted by: Gryf | 07 February 2023 at 09:16 AM