ARENHA (Advanced materials and Reactors for Energy storage tHrough Ammonia) is a European project with global impact seeking to develop, integrate and demonstrate key material solutions enabling the use of ammonia for flexible, safe and profitable storage and utilization of energy. Ammonia is an excellent energy carrier due to its high energy density, carbon-free composition, industrial know-how and relative ease of storage. ARENHA demonstrates the feasibility of ammonia as a dispatchable form of large-scale energy storage, enabling the integration of renewable electricity in Europe and creating global green energy corridors for Europe energy import diversification. Innovative Materials are developed and integrated into ground-breaking systems in order to demonstrate a flexible and profitable power-to-ammonia value chain but also several key energy discharge processes. Specifically, ARENHA will develop advanced SOEC for renewable hydrogen production, catalysts for low temperature/pressure ammonia synthesis, solid absorbents for ammonia synthesis intensification and storage, catalysts and membrane reactors for ammonia decomposition. Energy discharge processes studied in ARENHA tackle various applications from ammonia decomposition into pure H2 for FCEV, direct ammonia utilization on SOFCs for power and ICEs for mobility. ARENHA will demonstrate the full power-to-ammonia-to-usage value chain at TRL 5 and the outstanding potential of green ammonia to address the issue of large scale energy storage through LCA, sociological survey, techno-economic analysis deeply connected with multiscale modeling. ARENHA’s ambitious objectives will be tackled by a consortium of 11 partners from universities, RTO, SMEs and large companies covering the adequate set of skills and market positioning. Considering the global nature of the ARENHA project, the consortium will strongly interact with its international advisory board composed of key energy stakeholders from the 5 continents.

Facing the urgent challenges of climate change and the necessity for a transition towards more sustainable and efficient energy systems, the industrial sector, with the steel industry at the forefront, is compelled to significantly cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The steel sector, accounting for 9% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and consuming an average of ~5.2 MWh of primary energy per ton of steel produced, is at the heart of this challenge. The SYRIUS project, spanning 54 months, aims to revolutionize this landscape by integrating a 4.2 MWel Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) for producing 100 kg/h of green hydrogen into a real Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) plant. Hydrogen will feed a 280tsteel/h – 84 MWth slab reheating furnace, demonstrating the potential to reduce steel reheating process CO2 emissions by 5,600 t/year during the project and up to 100% with full hydrogen feeding. By generating steam through furnace off-gas heat recovery, implementing by-product oxygen recovery in the furnace (allowing additional savings of 430 tCO2/year in SYRIUS and of 2% fuel input in future expansion) and analysing options for water recycle, SYRIUS seeks to minimize external energy consumption and sets industrial circularity at the project core. With a viable business case centred on process integration, SYRIUS aims to strongly enhance market opportunities in the short to medium term by driving industrial green hydrogen costs below 2.2 €/kg, surpassing the SRIA targets for 2030. By preserving end-product quality at competitive costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering hydrogen costs, and creating new direct and indirect jobs, SYRIUS will play a pivotal role in enhancing the circularity of the EU steel sector. A first-of-its-kind TRL7 plant, ready to be scaled up, extended to other industries, and replicated globally thanks to the unique geographic coverage of the technology providers in the SYRIUS consortium, will showcase innovation in action.

AMPS project brings together the leading European companies in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Solid Oxide Electrolyzer manufacturing value chain. The project includes automation companies (Rocksoft, Smartal) and manufacturing equipment producers (SITEC, Haikutech, Dosetec) as well as cell manufacturer (Elcogen AS) and stack manufacturer (Elcogen oy). The project is motivated by their strong commitment to develop their products and services and commence real mass-manufacturing. The industry partners are supported by research institutes VTT, Polito and VUTS. The high-level AMPS objectives are: 1. Automated high-speed cell production with integrated quality control 2. Automated high-speed interconnect plate production and coating with integrated quality control 3. Automated high-speed stack assembly with integrated quality control 4. Complete component tracking and optimized mass-manufacturing by using virtual twins 5. Assessment and demonstration of target stack manufacturing cost of <800 €/kWel at production volume of 100 MW/year 6. Establish European supply chain of SOC manufacturing equipment Successful dissemination of the AMPS results is in the core of the participating companies business, as they are selling stack components and associated manufacturing equipment for many other companies than just AMPS partners and therefore want to spread the knowledge of the developed solutions and manufacturing methods and equipment.

BEST4Hy – SutainaBlE SoluTions FOR recycling of EoL Hydrogen Technologies has the main objective of bringing to TRL5 recycling technologies adapted or developed specifically for PEMFC and SOFC which would ensure the maximisation of recycling of critical raw materials including PGMs, rare earth elements, cobalt and nickel. The technologies are evaluated for cost efficiency and environmental impact to ensure the materials bring value to the European economy without harmful emissions or high energy costs. The output of the recycling technologies maximise opportunities for both closed loop and open loop recycling. More specifically, Pt and membrane materials are delivered back for manufacturing MEAS to be tested in full stacks, while both anode and catode materials from EoL SOFCs are treated for direct recycling into cells. The whole EoL device is considered, with technologies validated for open loop recycling and opportunities for recovery of other components of the cells/stacks explored. BEST4Hy involves a strong consortium inclusive of FCH devices manufacturers, a leading recycling centre already aware of the market opportunities for PEM recycling, leading research organisations and innovation support specialists to deliver a recycling strategy with wide buy in, accompanied by LCA and LCC full assessments, consideration on regulatory issues and a training program to support its take up.