Formic acid
Being the lightest gas, hydrogen storage and transportation is one of the major issue regarding large-scale commercial deployment for numerous of its applications (mobility, industry, etc.). Hydrogen carriers have the ability to make hydrogen far more easy to handle, store and transport. Among them, formic acid is one of the most promising one due to its high gravimetric storage capacity, its liquid form at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure reducing infrastructure cost for hydrogen storage and transport. In addition, formic acid decomposition enables to generate pure hydrogen at high pressure. Within C2FUEL project, three acid formic synthesis routes will be assessed and on will be tested in a demonstration pilot. Formic acid decomposition process will also be demonstrated in order to provide electricity for boats electrical charging at berth.
Dimethyl ether
In the frame of mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions and reducing local atmospheric pollution, regulations regarding mobility usages is becoming stricter year after year. A credible solution for mobility stakeholders to comply with these new standards and regulations is to develop alternative fuels to fossil fuels. Among them, dimethyl ether is already known as a fuel for trucks and ships. Notably, DME as an alternative to diesel for maritime traffic is a key fuel for new ship to comply with TIER III 2016 ship standard with drastic limit on NOX emission. Besides, it has comparable features with LPG securing existing infrastructure. Within C2FUEL, two DME synthesis routes will be assessed and one will be tested in a demonstration pilot. To characterize its properties and features, the DME produced will be then used for tests in real engines.