H2SITE, the first production plant of palladium alloy membranes to produce hydrogen.
H2SITE has opened the first production plant of palladium alloy membranes to obtain hydrogen. Located in Loiu (Bizkaia), the new facility aims to industrialise the production of membranes used in the construction of reactors and integrated separators for hydrogen production. The main characteristic of these membranes is that they are made of palladium alloy with which hydrogen of maximum purity can be obtained. However, these membranes are very complex to produce due to their cost and fragility, both of which factors H2SITE has managed to overcome.
The new plant in Loiu (Bizkaia) has a production capacity of several tens of thousands of membranes. H2SITE has invested in excess of 3 million euros in setting up the plant, which it plans to double in the coming years to increase production capacity.
Once the first membrane units have been validated, the objective for the technology developed by Tecnalia and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe) is to significantly increase the capacity of the plant, to vertically integrate the manufacture of the membrane and to apply the process in new plants to address new markets. As Andres Galnares, CEO of H2SITE, explains, the company's medium term goal is to multiply the number of membranes produced each year over the next 3 years, which entails continuing to invest in production assets similar to those that have already been installed, and increasing their level of automation to reduce costs.
In 2022, H2SITE has an order book worth more than 5 million euros, though they expect to double that figure over the next year and to expand their employee base to 50+ employees.
