SBIR Phase I: Zero Emission Nested Loop Reforming for High Purity Hydrogen Production

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to meet the growing demand for reduction of carbon emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPS) indicates that the major sources of emissions in the U.S. are from transportation, electrical generation, and industrial processes. These sources collectively constitute 79% of the 6.5 billion metric tons of emissions in 2017. This SBIR project will enhance the leading hydrogen production technology to become more efficient and release zero carbon emissions. The hydrogen technology innovation will also help meet the growing demand in the hydrogen market, valued at $136 billion and growing at 8% annually, as well as unlock hydrogen in new industries, such as electrical generation, that in the past have deemed hydrogen production as a non-viable option due in part to the carbon emissions. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to construct an innovative hydrogen reformer that is more efficient than the leading hydrogen production technology while releasing zero carbon emissions. The main technical risk the research will address is the integration of technically complex systems into a seamless hydrogen generator. The proposed project will break the integrated system into components which will be evaluated prior to integration, thus reducing the overall project risk. Upon successful construction and testing of the proposed system, PureTech will have demonstrated the technical and economical feasibility of the proposed system. This proof will allow PureTech to embark on a path to build large-scale hydrogen production systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.