Green hydrogen ‘distilled’ directly from the air without any emissions, using free solar energy, anywhere in the world, even at the most remote places: it looks genius. And it’s there. Belgian startup Solhyd has outgrown the lab and presented its SM500 module, which can help ramp up to megawatt-scale production. It’s ready for the big bang and looking for commercial partners.

“Our technology opens up new opportunities across a wide range of project types. Whether you’re working on a compact pilot project or designing full-scale commercial projects, now is the time to see how Solhyd can be integrated into your roadmap,” the campaign reads.

World Hydrogen Award

Solhyd is a Belgian startup that originated as a spin-off from KU Leuven in Belgium. It was founded by researchers Jan Rongé and Tom Bosserez, under the supervision of Professor Johan Martens. Its SM500 module was one of the main attractions at this year’s World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam in May, where it carried off the World Hydrogen Award. These awards showcase global excellence in hydrogen innovation, leadership, and commercialization.

They are organized by the Sustainable Energy Council (SEC) in collaboration with RX Global and local authorities, including the Dutch government, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Rotterdam, and the Port of Rotterdam. Jan Rongé, current CEO of Solhyd, was honored in Rotterdam in the ‘future leader’ category.

Radically reducing costs

In times when ‘green hydrogen’ is questioned as a viable zero-emission alternative due to the high costs of traditional electrolyzers and the massive amount of ‘green’ electricity required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the proposal should sound like music to the ears. 

“Our approach reduces installation and balance-of-plant (BOP) costs by a factor of 2 compared to conventional electrolysis technology,” Solhyd claims. “Thanks to its flexibility, our system slashes energy costs – the main driver of green hydrogen pricing – by a factor of 4.”

“In a typical project, half of the energy is supplied directly by the solar modules at minimal cost. The other half can be procured from the market or nearby renewable sources at the lowest prices – there is no need for minimum loads or complex operational control of the system. Switch it on and off as you like.”

The Belgian startup is scaling up now, but production capacity is not infinite, they warn. “If you’re planning a hydrogen project in the next 5 years, now is the time to get in touch. Together we can explore how our technology fits your plans, and help you reserve production slots ahead of time.”

So, how does this SM500 module work?

It sounds dead simple, but  a lot of research was required to come to a ready-to-deploy product.

• Air contains moisture. The water molecules in the air are captured by the module when the airstream enters the device.
• Sunlight irradiates the solar panel, providing the necessary energy. As the panel receives more sunshine, more hydrogen gas is produced.
• The Solhyd cores are the heart of the system. They can capture and buffer moisture from the air. They also contain electrodes and membranes to use the energy from the sun to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The device only contains low-cost, abundant materials, and the use of precious metals is excluded.
• Each module contains the necessary controls to monitor and operate it safely. Up to 10 modules can be connected in a cluster, which can be remotely monitored and controlled. The system’s redundancy ensures that the plant remains operational even if one cluster is switched off for maintenance or other reasons.
• The modules can be supplied with additional electrical power to increase production output when solar energy is unavailable.
• The hydrogen module features an outlet that provides pure green hydrogen. The panel produces hydrogen gas at low pressure, which is collected via tubing and a collector pipe. This gas can be used directly, stored locally at elevated pressures (after compression), or transported via pipelines. It can be utilized in a broad range of applications.
• During the water splitting process, pure oxygen gas is also produced. This gas is simply released into the air, without any adverse effects on the environment.

Driving on clean hydrogen?

How important this new technology could become has been proved again last week, when the dream of driving a vehicle on clean and ‘affordable’ hydrogen is further sputtering as Stellantis Group announced it will stop development of its light commercial hydrogen vehicles. Only a few car and truckmakers, including Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, and Mercedes (Trucks), are still advocating the technology.

Stellantis’ new management made this decision “in the absence of a medium–term outlook for the hydrogen market,” the company stated in a press release. Meanwhile, as battery prices dropped and charging networks expanded rapidly, battery-powered EVs became the clear choice for most automakers, many of whom said, “Battery is the better solution” and “hydrogen is too expensive to make sense.”

While infrastructure is still lacking due to the high costs of hydrogen stations compared to fossil fuel stations, the price of hydrogen remains too high, particularly for ‘green hydrogen’. Green hydrogen remains highly sensitive to electricity costs and electrolyzer efficiency, as most of it is produced by splitting water using preferably surplus renewable energy when wind and solar farms generate more power than the grid can absorb.

Grey hydrogen, on the other hand, is widely used because it utilizes a mature SMR (steam methane reforming) process, which involves cracking natural gas —a relatively inexpensive process. However, because it’s based on fossil resources, it still contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result, today, hydrogen prices used in road transport in Europe vary between €1.00 and €2.00 per kg for grey hydrogen and between €4.00 and €8.00 per kg, depending on electricity prices and production setup for green hydrogen.

Powering houses and vehicles

When a solution like that of Belgian Solhyd could become mainstream, this could change the perspective completely. In the future, even households could use Solhyd’s panels to generate hydrogen, which they can use to heat their homes and provide them with electricity.

It could also be stored and used to power fuel cell electric cars. In theory, twenty of these SolHyd panels could be enough to power a Toyota Mirai today. If these panels were mass-produced and priced equal to those of solar panels today, that would be a giant leap forward in making hydrogen a key factor in the green transition.