BE-MARS

The BEMARS project aims to develop an innovative process for green hydrogen production with costs below €3/kg, emissions below 5 kg CO₂/kg H₂, and efficiencies close to 60% at scales of 0.2–5 MW (compared to current costs of €5–10/kg and efficiencies of 40%, but at scales of 10–100 MW, which are incompatible with most existing biomass plants).
This reduction in costs and increase in efficiency is achieved primarily through the integration of hydrogen-separating membranes in a fluidized bed reforming process (the fluidized bed enhances reaction conduction, while the membranes drive the reaction beyond the thermodynamic equilibrium by continuously removing a product, eliminating the need for hydrogen separation systems such as PSA, which have high CAPEX and OPEX) and by supplying process heat via electric resistances powered by renewable electricity instead of using burners and heat exchangers (thereby removing components and further increasing efficiency).