The SIAD Group and ENEA collaborate on a new hydrogen/methane separation plant

ENEA has built a pilot plant at the Casaccia Research Centre in Rome to separate the components of hydrogen-methane mixtures using advanced membrane technology.

Housed within a container, this deblending prototype is one of the innovative units to be integrated into the Hydrogen Demo Valley, currently under development at the same research centre as part of Mission Innovation, the international collaboration programme aimed at accelerating breakthroughs in decarbonisation technologies.

Developed within the framework of Electric System Research and through a partnership between ENEA, SIAD S.p.A. and Tecno Project Industriale TPI (a company of the SIAD Group), the plant is designed for straightforward industrial deployment. Membrane technology is particularly suitable for Power-to-Methane applications - systems that produce synthetic methane from surplus renewable energy - thus opening new opportunities for hydrogen utilisation.

"The role of hydrogen as an extremely versatile energy carrier, capable of linking different energy systems, is now widely recognised," notes ENEA researcher Alberto Giaconia, Head of the Hydrogen and New Energy Carriers Laboratory within the Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department (TERIN DEC H2V).

Hydrogen can be transported through the gas network either in pure form or blended with other gases, such as methane, which is traditionally used in gas grids. Currently, hydrogen can be injected into the natural gas network at concentrations of up to 2% by volume. "For this reason, it is crucial for the wider energy system to have flexible and sustainable technologies capable of separating and recovering hydrogen from gas mixtures, thereby making it available in pure form for a variety of end uses," Giaconia concludes.