Turning Ethanol into Hydrogen

by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new technology developed by Proteum Energy could use ethanol as a feedstock for producing hydrogen, a very real contender in the hard-to-electrify sector. -- Proteum Energy wants to work with ethanol producers to turn ethanol into hydrogen. CEO Laurence Tree tells Ethanol Producer Magazine the company’s path to market—and Proteum’s end goal—seems both plausible and possible. The company has proven tech with more than 35 patents in multiple countries, including Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Canada and India.

More than $65 million in investment by a team of engineers working on the process to turn ethanol into hydrogen—for nearly a decade—has gotten results. Researchers from the University of Regina have proven that the Proteum process of transforming natural gas liquids like ethane, or even simply ethanol, can produce a clean, renewable hydrogen. European energy firms are signing up to use it. California will likely be home a Protuem hydrogen production facility in the future. Hydrogen produced from the system, Tree explains, qualifies for the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits as well as 45Q tax credits. “When ethanol is used as a feedstock with our technology,” Tree says, “the end product’s carbon intensity score can actually be negative.”

And then there is the hydrogen market. Much like the electric vehicle market, the hydrogen sector is an evolving mix of hopeful hype, practical resource opportunities and a technology application that seems to be always on the horizon. The fuel itself is used in a fuel cell and produces water as a byproduct. It can be produced from natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, solar, wind and ethanol. Big names that are widely recognizable on the interstate today are investing in or already using hydrogen as a fuel source; they include Toyota, Volvo Daimler, Kenworth, Cummins, Hyundai and more.

“There are some extraordinary assets in the ethanol sector,” he says, explaining how impressed his team has become with the ability of ethanol producers and their leading role in carbon capture, utilization and/or sequestration (CCUS).

The approach by Proteum is to partner with ethanol producers or buy ethanol gallons directly from them. There are two main business models.

The Partner-Customer Tolling model locates a modular system at a partner’s facility. Proteum works with partners to resource feedstock and CO2 sequestration. Proteum would receive a tolling fee and may use excess hydrogen production capacity to produce hydrogen or other designer fuels for third-party customers.

Alternatively, in the Build-Own-Operate model, the company would install its system at a location of favorably priced feedstock and CO2 sequestration/utilization. Proteum would source and purchase feedstock, process H2 fuel, along with other designer fuels. CO2 produced during hydrogen production would be sold or sent to permanent storage, potentially generating tax incentives. Lastly, hydrogen fuel or designer options would be sold to customers.

The technology module is built off a system that relies on high-temperature thermals that create steam before converting that steam to hydrogen.

Feedstock gas for Proteum (in this case an ethanol beer cut) and low amounts of water are fed into the core technology platform where it first runs through standard auxiliary equipment before entering the proprietary steam non-methane reformer technology. The result is clean hydrogen fuel. Additional modular units can be added for CO2 separation, H2 separation, or synthetic natural gas.

“We can also provide the ethanol producer with some waste heat and power to their facility,” he says.

Tree jokes that ethanol producers can get into the diesel business by producing clean hydrogen that could or will replace fossil-based diesel. He knows some aren’t sold on hydrogen or the idea of a new fuel type. But he also is quick to rattle off story after story of major trucking companies announcing moves into hydrogen fleet expansions. Or stories from California about diesel trucks being removed from the roads by 2035. And, to help illustrate the difference between electric heavy cargo trucks and hydrogen fueled alternatives, he points to weight and time. EVs are much heavier, and they also require much more time to recharge. A refill on a hydrogen-fueled truck takes about the same time as a fossil-based diesel option, he says, and that alone is attractive to OEMs looking at investing in hydrogen.

Proteum isn’t alone in its quest to turn ethanol into clean hydrogen. Just last year, Shell signed a deal with two Brazil ethanol plants to produce hydrogen.

In addition to hydrogen fuel for over-the-road transportation, the modular units created by Proteum can produce hydrogen for sustainable aviation fuel or for low-carbon ammonia fertilizer products, as well.