Sparc Hydrogen commences pilot plant activities

Sparc Technologies has announced that Sparc Hydrogen, a joint venture between Sparc Technologies, the University of Adelaide and Fortescue Limited, has commenced front-end engineering and design (FEED) for what it says is a global, first-of-its-kind pilot plant planned to be located at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus.

The decision to commence FEED, obtain site approvals and procure long lead-time equipment is on the back of several key milestones achieved over recent months with respect to the pilot plant, including securing an in principle agreement from the University of Adelaide to locate the plant at its Roseworthy Campus, progressing pilot scale reactor design and engineering and the signing of a collaboration framework agreement with Shinshu University in Japan, a leading developer of photocatalyst materials. Each of these milestones represents material de-risking of the pilot plant development work streams building on from the pre-FEED study and the successful prototyping work completed at the CSIRO Energy Centre in early April 2024.

In parallel, work continues in the laboratory to test and optimise Sparc Hydrogen’s photocatalytic water splitting reactor under a range of conditions, using various high-efficiency photocatalyst materials.

“Sparc is delighted with the progress that the Sparc Hydrogen team has made over recent weeks and months on key development work streams for the pilot plant,” said Sparc Technologies Managing Director Nick O’Loughlin. “Commencing FEED for the pilot is an important milestone for the joint venture and follows a substantial amount of work on reactor design, site selection and photocatalyst sourcing.

“In the global context of high electricity prices, energy insecurity and increasingly urgent calls for decarbonisation, we believe that the requirement for alternative, low-cost green hydrogen production technology has never been greater.”

Sparc Hydrogen has engaged Incitias Pty Ltd to complete front-end engineering and design for the pilot plant planned to be located at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus. The FEED study will build on the flowsheet developed during the pre-FEED, which included four linear Fresnel modules within an end-to-end green hydrogen production system. The plant will allow Sparc Hydrogen to independently and concurrently test different reactor designs and photocatalyst materials. Sparc Hydrogen is not aware of any similar facilities developed for testing photocatalytic water splitting under concentrated solar conditions worldwide.

Over recent months, Sparc Hydrogen has progressed the design and engineering of a pilot scale PWS reactor. The company has been working collaboratively with the chosen linear Fresnel equipment supplier to ensure the reactor’s compatibility with their solar concentrator design. The Sparc Hydrogen team has also identified manufacturing capability within Australia to support local construction of the PWS reactors. The recent prototype testing completed at CSIRO Energy Centre provides confidence in the underlying design principles for the pilot scale reactor.

Image: 3D pilot plant model based on Incitias’s pre-FEED study.