Low cost catalytic conversion of methane to high purity hydrogen for use in the Foundation Industries

This project brings together different foundation industries, bulk chemical and glass production, to realize shared opportunities for use of hydrogen by-product from functional carbon production as a supply to float glass manufacturing. This high-impact feasibility study has potential to add value to key UK industry sectors. The project partners are two Foundation Industry companies, an start up and a knowledge centre (University of Cambridge).

The companies leading this proposal are world experts in functional carbon materials manufacturing (Q Flo) and glass manufacturing (Pilkington, NGS) and have strong track records of commercializing innovative manufacturing processes.

The project directly addresses issues of resource utilization by delivering an innovative and cost-effective route to simultaneously produce clean and usable hydrogen alongside high value and usable carbon products. This will result in symbiosis in processes and industries. The project will demonstrate and evaluate the commercial potential of using methane feedstock to generate quality hydrogen gas and high value carbon products.

Success will enable the UK to take an important lead in this emerging sector of common resource utilization technologies. It will also embed technology in the UK and open the potential to exploit significant export opportunities.

The project represents Industrial Research that builds on the success of both existing commercial activities, as well as unique UK academic knowledge. Having secured the ability to produce advanced materials the project, if funded, will accelerate development of exploitation of an unused co-product, hydrogen, as a source for glass manufacturing.

IUK funding will allow rapid development and trialling of this new technology for hydrogen production. This will include evaluation by members of the Foundation Industry sector for use as a process chemical.

The output will be a robust, environmentally acceptable and investment ready process design for a production demonstrator scale plant. Although based in the UK, the project is international in its application and builds on innovation and research from grant and commercially funded work at the University of Cambridge; its successful completion will anchor this globally important technology in the UK. The collaboration with NSG, global players in the glass market, will open a global route to market.

Delivering this project will facilitate advancement of the UK's goal of achieving a carbon zero economy while offering first mover advantage to manufacturing and development companies seeking to utilise high performance carbon based materials.