Eneos inaugurates methylcyclohexane plant in Brisbane
Japanese energy firm Eneos Corp. has constructed a demonstration plant in Brisbane to produce methylcyclohexane (MCH), a type of hydrogen carrier, the company said on January 30.
Eneos will produce MCH using its proprietary electrochemical synthesis of organic hydride method. The plant will begin operation in February and the demonstration period will go on till September.
The demonstration plant will produce green MCH by combining the medium-sized electrolyzer with a 250-kilowatt solar power system in Queensland. Additionally, during the demonstration period, MCH equivalent to approximately 2 to 3 metric tons of hydrogen for 400 to 600 fuel cell vehicles will be produced and transported to Japan, where hydrogen will be extracted from MCH in Eneos' Central Technical Research Laboratory.
The company said it has worked to scale up electrolyzers using Direct MCH technology in order to mass produce MCH derived from renewable energy. The 150-kilowatt-scale medium-sized electrolyzer which Eneos recently succeeded in developing technology consists of stacked electrodes with a surface area of 3 m2.
Eneos said it will use the knowledge gained from this demonstration plant to develop a larger-sized 5 megawatt-scale electrolyzer for commercialisation by 2025.