National Laboratory for Renewable Energy (RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00009)

Project ID: RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00009

Project description:

As concerns about global warming intensify, more attention is being paid to harnessing renewable energy sources. Economic analysis and forecasts suggest that the green economy will form the basis of the next great economic cycle (Kondratyev cycle). However, the deployment of such technologies is hampered by their intermittency (e.g. the time of day for solar panels) and the fact that no generally satisfactory solution has yet been found for storing the electricity generated. The chemical storage of excess energy produced intermittently (in various high energy density compounds, e.g. H2 production and/or CCU) offers a solution that can be easily integrated into industrial processes (power to gas, P2G and power to liquid, P2L concepts), and technologies to achieve this could be a key priority for the future economy. Decarbonisation targets are emphasised in the National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Energy Strategy. In order for Hungary to become a winner in the medium and long term in the green economy, a complex knowledge base and competence set must be created to enable domestic economic actors to be competitive. To this end, we will create the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which will build the scientific and technological, legal, economic and industrial property base for low carbon energy technologies, in particular H2 production/transport/storage/use and CO2 recovery (CCU), thus contributing to the development of a sustainable energy and chemical industry. The need to supply green hydrogen-based energy and raw materials to sectors that are difficult to decarbonise with electricity, and the need for CCU, underlines the need for these technologies. Battery technologies with domestic relevance are also identified as a complementary objective. In parallel, and in support of each other, the two groups of technologies can play a significant role in sector integration, in strengthening domestic security of supply and in achieving our decarbonisation goals. Building on the existing and emerging knowledge base, close cooperation between the collaborating partners will create new technological solutions that will lead to disruptive innovations, putting Hungarian businesses in a good position in a fast growing market. We also aim to enable these operators to enter the energy storage and conversion value chains as manufacturers or potential component suppliers with high added value. The research institutes will support the development of innovative product portfolios, the knowledge base for product and component development and the training of professionals.

The National Laboratory focuses on five R&D focus areas:

I) Research and development of electroactive and structural components for fuel cells (TCs) and new generation Li-ion batteries, recycling and related electrochemical and electrical engineering and manufacturing aspects. In addition to the materials science R&D of electroactive and structural components, we will also focus on the development of system components supporting the integration of bundles and packages into the application environment, i.e. balance-of-plant components.

II) Development of test stations comparing different H2 and CCU technologies and their expected lifetime. The focus area will aim at the development of measurement technologies to compare the different technologies (electrolysis, TC, catalysis) in a standardised way.

III) Development of scale-up H2 generating and CO2 conversion electrolysers and catalytic technologies. A further objective is to design and prepare the implementation of a demonstration plant for the production of e-synthesis gas and subsequently e-kerosene

IV) Investigation of disruptive H2 production/storage and CCU processes will focus on high risk-high gain topics at early TRL level. A strong emphasis will be put on the development of catalytic processes for H2 liquid storage technologies, more specifically Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) or other Power to Liquid (P2L) methods (e.g. NH3). Investigation of circular waste recovery technologies.

V) Economic and legal analysis of H2 and CCU and technologies. Corporate competence building and support for sector integration and educational activities. This will result, inter alia, in a White Paper on the economic and legal analysis of CCU, which will help economic operators to develop the most appropriate decarbonisation strategy for their needs. NL members are creating a complex, interdependent competence system for education, from short-term training to PhD courses. We are training a generation of young researchers/specialists to ensure the long-term sustainability of the discipline and the supply of professionals to the business sector.

Project duration: 01.01.2022 – 30.09.2025

Total project cost: 6.304.000.000 HUF

Support rate: 100 %

Consortium leader: University of Pécs

Consortium partners: BUDAPEST UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS, University of Debrecen, Centre for Energy Research, University of Miskolc, John von Neumann University, University of Pannonia, University of Győr, University of Szeged, Eötvös Loránd Research Network

Project cost for University of Pannonia: 870.000.000 HUF

Professional leader: Dr. Bakonyi Péter

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Project manager: Szolga Szilárd

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