W2H2

Waste transformed into hydrogen

ABOUT THE PROJECT

W2H2 is a Polish technology company developing a reactor for the pyrolysis of industrial and municipal waste. The technology was developed by scientists at Gdańsk University of Technology, and W2H2 obtained the rights to its commercial use and further development.

The process involves the thermal decomposition of waste under oxygen-free conditions. Pyrolysis produces syngas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane, among other components, as well as carbonizate.

A characteristic feature of the solution is the purification of pyrolytic gas directly inside the reactor, without the need for an extensive set of additional purification equipment.

Tests of a prototype with a capacity of 5 kg RDF per hour demonstrated that the syngas obtained can contain approximately 50% hydrogen by volume. W2H2 is developing the technology with a view to scaling it to industrial equipment intended for local waste processing and energy recovery.

WHAT NEEDS DOES THE INNOVATION ADDRESS?

One of the challenges in waste management remains the handling of industrial and municipal fractions that cannot be easily reused or subjected to conventional recycling. At the same time, these wastes contain chemical energy that may remain unused in the traditional model.

The second challenge is the growing demand for hydrogen as an energy carrier and feedstock for industry and transport. However, hydrogen production requires an appropriate energy source or feedstock, which is why technologies are being developed to enable its recovery from waste materials as well.

W2H2 addresses both of these problems through a process in which waste is converted into syngas with a high hydrogen content and carbonizate. Hydrogen can then be separated from the gas and used as fuel, among other applications, while the remaining process products can find energy or technological uses.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

A significant distinguishing feature of W2H2 technology is the combination of the pyrolysis process with the reduction of heavy hydrocarbons and gas purification directly in the reactor. According to PARP, this enables simultaneous waste processing and purification of reaction products in a single device, limiting the need for additional infrastructure.

Tests of the prototype reactor confirmed the possibility of obtaining syngas containing approximately 50% hydrogen by volume. The company also indicates that based on prototype testing and numerical modeling, assumptions have been developed enabling the scaling of the installation to an industrial capacity of 150–200 kg RDF per hour.

The technology developed by the Gdańsk University of Technology team has been granted patent protection. In 2023, the W2H2 solution received the main award in the 25th edition of the Polish Product of the Future competition in the category of joint university-entrepreneur product, as well as a special award from the Minister of Education and Science.

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