BEEAH Group, the Middle East’s sustainability pioneer, Chinook Sciences, UK’s innovator in waste to fuel technologies, and Air Water, a Japanese conglomerate with businesses relating to natural resources and industrial gas production, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to produce fuel cell grade hydrogen from waste wood and plastic.
The MoU signed in Japan is a first step in forming a consortium that will advance progress on the Middle East’s first waste to hydrogen plant, located in Sharjah, and explore further opportunities across the region.
Combining BEEAH’s expertise in waste management and material recovery, Chinook Sciences patented RODECS pyrolysis and gasification process, and Air Water’s Hydrogen Refinement technology, the Waste to Hydrogen plant in Sharjah will transform waste wood and plastic into fuel-cell grade green hydrogen.
The plans for the Waste to Hydrogen plant include an on-site green hydrogen dispensing station capable of fuelling several vehicles.
To realise this innovative type of fuelling station, the plant will need to produce fuel cell grade hydrogen, which will be made possible with Air Water’s Hydrogen Refinement technology.
Syngas produced from the RODECS pyrolysis and gasification process from Chinook Sciences will be fed into the hydrogen refinement system, resulting in fuel cell grade green hydrogen. Specifically, the grade hydrogen will be produced for PEM fuel cells at ISO14687 or SAEJ2719 standards.
Last year, following Cop26 in Glasgow, the UAE announced the Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, becoming the first nation in the Middle East to announce a net-zero emissions strategy. As part of this strategy, the UAE also announced a hydrogen leadership roadmap, which includes the production and export of green hydrogen produced through clean technologies. The production of waste derived fuels is a clean energy technology and through the production of fuel cell grade hydrogen, the Sharjah Waste to Hydrogen plant will potentially displace thousands of tons of CO2 every year.
Air Water’s engineering division based in New Jersey, United States, has been working with Chinook Sciences since 2004 on the active pyrolysis technology in the multi-patented RODECS process, which is a universal thermal treatment system. Air Water and Chinook Sciences have an intricate knowledge of the conversion processes in RODECS, which will inform the success of the Waste to Hydrogen project with BEEAH Group.
The Waste to Hydrogen plant in Sharjah was first announced by BEEAH Group and Chinook Sciences Green in May 2021 and was formalised later the same year with the commencement of development plans. The project will add to BEEAH Group’s diversifying portfolio of zero-waste, net-zero emissions solutions to power the sustainable, smart cities of tomorrow. At the same time, it will introduce cutting-edge technologies from UK’s Chinook Sciences and Japan’s Air Water to the UAE and the nation. By 2030, the global green hydrogen production market is expected to reach US$1 trillion. As per its Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, the UAE aims to be a hub for the export of green hydrogen and is targeting 25 percent of the global market.
