Talento
Talento

Digital solutions

Zeppelin Project

Reganosa will test new green hydrogen (H2) production and storage technologies in Spain. Together with the Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Matemática de Galicia (CITMAga) and within a consortium of large companies in the sector, the Galician energy multinational will develop a digital tool to support the manufacture of H2 through the recovery of waste.

The general objective of the Zeppelin project is to research a flexible set of technologies for the production and storage of green hydrogen based on the use of waste and by-products, seeking to significantly improve the costs and efficiency of the production of this energy vector. In this way, the project addresses the different technological challenges linked to biogas and bioethanol reforming, dark fermentation, microbial electrolysis, gasification and H2 storage, establishing new models for obtaining green H2 complementary to electrolysis with renewable energies, integrated into a decarbonised energy model under the principles of the circular economy and digitalisation, in a scenario of water stress aggravated by phenomena derived from climate change.

This initiative is driven by a consortium of eight companies led by Aqualia, which together with Norvento Enerxía, Naturgy, Perseo Biotechnology, Repsol, Redexis, Reganosa and Técnicas Reunidas, are embarking on a project that will last 38 months (from 1 November 2021 to 31 December 2024).

In addition, 9 research organisations are also collaborating (CETIM, CIEMAT, EnergyLab, CIDAUT, Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ-UPV and ITQ-CSIC), FUNGE-UVa, IMDEA-ENERGIA and CITMAga), which have a complementary technological capacity to carry out all the research activities proposed throughout the project.

The Zeppelin project has a total budget of 7,108,584 euros and a grant of 4,239,725.90 euros. It has been subsidised by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), within the framework of the 2021 call of the Missions Science and Innovation Programme (Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan), and has the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The aid granted to the project is financed by the European Union through the Next GenerationEU Fund.

This programme finances pre-competitive cooperative research projects, led by companies, to achieve:

Relevant research that proposes solutions to cross-cutting and strategic challenges of Spanish society.

Improve the knowledge and technology base on which Spanish companies rely to compete.

Stimulate public-private cooperation.

ZEPPELIN Project Structure

The Zeppelin project is structured in 5 complementary research activities that address each of the technologies of the project, as well as their integration in different proofs of concept:

Research and optimisation of H2 production from catalytic techniques is proposed. The dry reforming process of biogas is investigated and optimised, including pre-treatment for its desulphurisation and a second stage valorisation of the syngas to maximise H2 production. In addition, research and optimisation of the bioethanol production and reforming process is addressed, as well as process improvements through electrification of catalytic reactors.

Research and optimisation of H2 production from microbiological techniques is proposed.
Specifically, the dark fermentation process, microbial electrolysis and bioH2 upgrading are investigated and optimised.

It is focused on the research and optimisation of H2 production from thermochemical techniques.
To this end, the research and optimisation of the gasification process from waste and the separation and purification processes of H2 and Syngas.

It is focused on the research of H2 storage processes. Specifically, new storage materials in the form of ammonia and new storage materials using porous materials are investigated, as well as thermal-energy integration in H2 storage processes.

In addition, in each of the previous activities, the research of new algorithms for the modelling of each of the processes studied is proposed.

Addresses the integration and optimisation of alternative processes for obtaining hydrogen. The integration of new production and storage technologies is studied, including the proof of concept of the technologies investigated in Zeppelin. In addition, the analysis of the integration potential of the technologies and the design of a digital optimisation tool are proposed.

The Zeppelin project has been subsidised by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), within the framework of the 2021 call of the Missions Science and Innovation programme (Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan), and is supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The aid granted to the project is financed by the European Union through the Next GenerationEU Fund.