Advancing Cost Reductions and Performance Efficiency for Renewable H2 Generation from Organic Wastes via Microbial Electrolysis

Electro-Active Technologies Inc.

Recipient

San Francisco, CA

Recipient Location

11th

Senate District

17th

Assembly District

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$282,073

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

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Project Update

The project has completed about 35 months of work, delivering on all milestones scheduled to date. These include development of electroactive biocatalyst for renewable waste streams provided by Gallo wineries, demonstrating >80% COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal, understanding parameters limiting performance, achieving target performance in bench-scale studies, investigating process upsets and recovering from loss of performance. The project team has demonstrated conversion of the renewable waste using electro-active microbial communities and characterized those communities. Key metabolic pathways were identified via omics analysis and routes to improve hydrogen production were assessed. Next steps include production of a prototype system to demonstrate the system in a disadvantaged community in California.

The Issue

Decarbonization of the energy industry requires production of clean fuels in addition to electricity. Sources of clean hydrogen need to be developed at prices compatible with displacement of fossil fuels. Besides emissions from fossil fuels, the food industry also releases large amounts of methane via food waste, which ends up in landfills. This project addresses these issues collectively, developing a pathway for production of clean hydrogen from food, biomass, and organic waste, which are also renewable sources of energy.

Project Innovation

This project advances microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) technology by improving efficiency and overcoming performance stability barriers for low-carbon hydrogen production. The MEC technology has immense potential as a carbon negative solution for generating low carbon hydrogen as opposed to fossil-based Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) processes. Further, innovative pathways to produce carbon-negative hydrogen are being developed.

Project Benefits

By enabling cost reductions in the conversion of California food waste to low-carbon hydrogen, this Agreement will benefit ratepayers by accelerating the commercialization of a clean, low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen fuel. In addition to lowering the costs of fuel for ratepayers, this agreement will provide health and environmental benefits to ratepayers.