JM’s catalysts will be used to remove trace oxygen to meet oxygen specifications in the production of high purity, zero carbon hydrogen.

Removal of oxygen is critical to make the process safer and more efficient. Deoxygenation is an essential step in the production of green hydrogen and requires a flexible and robust catalyst that can operate under a variety of pressures, relatively low temperatures, and intermittent feed flows.

Green hydrogen has a low carbon footprint compared to alternative fuels and can be used as clean energy and in the production of chemical building blocks such as ammonia and methanol.  These building blocks are used to make many of our everyday products, from fuels to clothing, food packaging, fertilisers, building materials and pharmaceuticals.

Purovac Green catalysts have been carefully designed to be efficient within a broad operation envelope and maintain performance over many operation cycles making this a reliable, easy to operate and economic solution.

Jane Toogood, Catalyst Technologies Chief Executive at JM, said, “We are committed to catalysing the net zero transition for our customers and addressing the biggest environmental challenges that exist. Finding ways to decarbonise and move towards more sustainable processes is of utmost importance and we are pleased to support Shell’s decarbonisation ambition.”

Shell recently appointed Yokogawa Electric Corporation as the main automation contractor (MAC) whereby Yokogawa will optimise operations at the Holland Hydrogen I plant, by closely integrating its systems and equipment.

Hydrogen produced at the site will be transported via pipeline to Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, and is expected to replace some of the grey hydrogen used in the refinery, as a step to partially decarbonise the production of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

JM recently announced it has begun fuel cell recycling in China. Located in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, the plant is refining and recycling the platinum group metal (PGM) content from membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), a key component of an automotive fuel cell, from Unilia, one of the world’s leading providers of fuel cell stack technology.

Whilst the volume of materials for refining will be small to begin with, it has sufficient capacity and ability to scale up its facilities to meet the demand expected over the coming years.

China is the biggest PGM market in terms of demand but with very limited natural resource, so recycled precious metals will be critical to meeting this challenge. On average, around 80% of the platinum group metals used by JM are sourced internally, creating a resilient supply.