Hydron Energy Inc. (Hydron), the cleaner fuel company that is commercializing a biogas upgrading solution, has announced that it is receiving advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and Innovate BC, through the BC Fast Pilot program. The funding will support Hydron to design, build, and operate a pilot-scale, mobile renewable natural gas (RNG) upgrader system known as the Intensified Regenerative Upgrading Platform Technology (INTRUPT) or I-Multi Waste-to-Energy Pilot Project (I-Multi).
“The BC Fast Pilot Program enables Hydron to apply its gas separation expertise to create a multi-swing process and demonstrate a breakthrough approach with 50% lower cost for upgrading biogas to RNG,” said Hydron President and CEO Soheil Khiavi. “Commercially viable, small-scale gas separating solutions are crucial to unlocking access to dispersed waste feedstocks, preventing methane emissions, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”
I-Multi will demonstrate the feasibility of using the INTRUPT process in a field test to upgrade biogas to biomethane. During the 1000 planned hours of field testing, which will take place in the fall of 2022, the I-Multi will produce 5000 Nm3 of RNG with a purity between 94% to 98%.
EPCOR Commercial Services Inc. (EPCOR) has been a strategic partner since the project launched in June 2021 and continues to have a positive influence on the project’s outcomes. In addition to supporting the development of the pilot, EPCOR is identifying potential test sites within its network, connecting Hydron with facility owners to pilot the INTRUPT process.
“Disrupting a mature industrial market with a new technology is often met with doubt and demands to prove results in the field,” said Business Development Manager Alison Cartier. “Support provided to Hydron through the BC Fast Pilot Program and from our project partner, EPCOR, is helping us quickly progress our gas separation technology from prototype to commercial product and opening doors to potential customers, future joint-venture partners, and investors.”
Hydron is using its proprietary materials, hardware, and process cycles to produce up to 50% savings on both capital and operating costs. Enabling the upgrading process to occur under ambient conditions, the INTRUPT does not require any feed compressors/vacuum pumps, feed gas drying units, nor exhaust gas post-treatment systems, which also improves the carbon intensity level. The I-Multi system will be a mobile unit and will travel between sites in Canada and the United States, demonstrating its performance under different biogas conditions during the next few years. The company aims to have its first commercial-scale product on the market in 2024.
