BASF and Shell collaborate on green hydrogen technology

BASF announced today that it will work with Shell to evaluate and certify BASF's Puristar R0-20 and Sorbead adsorption technologies for green hydrogen production.

According to BASF, green hydrogen purification is a key step required for the further processing, transportation and use of hydrogen as an energy or chemical feedstock. The hydrogen product from water electrolysis contains water and residual oxygen and must be removed from impurities before downstream processing or utilization of hydrogen. Puristar R0-20 is a highly active and durable catalyst that can effectively remove the impurity oxygen in hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water. Sorbead adsorption technology provides a reliable, low-energy solution for hydrogen drying that meets the low water content specifications of hydrogen. The two technologies are now part of Shell's solutions portfolio and will be used in its global green hydrogen projects.

In addition, BASF has developed a new DeOxo design tool to optimize DeOxo units operating downstream of electrolyzers. The Puristar R0-20 catalyst converts oxygen to water in the DeOxo unit to remove oxygen; after the DeOxo step, the hydrogen is dried using Sorbead adsorption technology; the purified hydrogen can be used as an energy source or as a chemical feedstock.