Partnership to convert landfill waste into hydrogen for transport

RENEWABLE fuels company Raven SR has entered into an agreement with a Republic Services sanitary landfill in Northern California to convert organic waste into hydrogen that can be sold at commercial fuel stations.

Raven SR will process up to 99.9 t/d of organic waste from the landfill site which will be converted into 2000 t/y of renewable hydrogen. The hydrogen will be sold at fuels stations for passenger and heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles. The Republic site will be one of Raven SR’s first commercial facilities, alongside another landfill facility that has yet to be confirmed.

Matt Murdock, Raven SR CEO, said: “Republic Services gives us a foundation to produce green hydrogen for commercial use in the transportation sector in Northern California. As we bring this system online under very strict environmental regulatory controls, we will demonstrate we can convert waste anywhere.”

Raven SR’s technology uses steam/CO₂ reforming with a proprietary chemical process that doesn’t require catalysts and doesn’t admit any oxygen, which eliminates combustion. Raven SR claims that this is one of the only non-combustion waste-to-hydrogen processes in the world. It can convert all of the feedstock into fuel rather than incinerating it for heat, and does not suffer from the tar buildup that is usually associated with combustion methods.

It can process mixed feedstocks and all types of waste – including biomass, municipal solid waste, industrial waste, sewage – which is converted into syngas. The syngas can then be converted to hydrogen or other products such as renewable diesel, aviation fuel, additives, and solvents. The waste doesn’t need to be sorted prior to processing and the company claims that the process results in more syngas than conventional steam reforming processes. It says that this is a valid alternative to electrolysis for green hydrogen production as it doesn’t rely on using limited water resources.

The technology is modular and can be used at sites with higher hydrogen requirements. The units can also be situated at wastewater treatment plants and agricultural sites.

Raven SR has also recently received US$20m in investment from Chevron, Itochu, Hyzon Motors, and Ascent Hydrogen Fund.

Craig Knight, CEO of Hyzon Motors, said: “Raven SR’s technology is highly efficient, scalable, and mobile, solving many of the logistics and financial challenges of green hydrogen production. With their partnership, we expect to reach our vision of 1,000 green hydrogen hubs.”