The 2nd edition of the Basque Hydrogen Research Day was the forum chosen by the H2MAT+ project consortium to present their objectives and developments to industrial representatives from leading sectors that design, manufacture and apply components, equipment and structures that work in hydrogen-rich environments.
At the meeting, Dr. Enara Mardaras, head of the Corrosion and Protection of Metallic Materials research line at AZTERLAN, shared with the attendees the evolution of the project that focuses on the development of knowledge, capabilities and robust methodologies to design, produce and evaluate metallic materials and structures from the point of view of their behavior in the presence of hydrogen, that is, solutions that are applicable by the different sectors dedicated to the development of products for the transportation, storage and distribution of this fuel of the future, as well as by the industries that develop and manufacture components and structures that must work in contact with hydrogen, such as aquatic or aerospace applications.
With this aim, the team has focused on investigating the behavior of materials in a hydrogen environment, its effect on the mechanical properties of the material and on its behavior in service, as well as on the development of alternative solutions for hybridized materials, including their manufacturing technologies, for hydrogen environments. They have also identified opportunities for technology transfer to other sectors and markets based on solid foundations of knowledge and behavior.
The corrosion expert revealed the significant results achieved by H2MAT+ in relation to the knowledge of the behaviour of metallic materials in hydrogen environments, such as the following: knowing the diffusion of hydrogen in the microstructure, designing the microstructure to minimize this diffusion, identifying the ranges in which the material can work without embrittlement problems or optimizing the ratio of necessary properties of the materials according to their application in service. They have also developed new hybridized materials and structures (HEA-steel, steel-aluminium and steel-steel multilayer materials), and their manufacturing technologies, such as cooling control in gravity aluminum casting, developments for centrifugal casting or the application of NFS (co-deformation) and HIP (Hot Isostatic pressing) technologies.
H2MAT+ is a continuation of the Elkartek H2MAT project (2022-2023) which has already been completed. The R&D centers and entities integrated in this consortium have used the work developed in H2MAT to position themselves as active players in the field of materials for hydrogen transport. Specifically, they have been trained in the design, production and characterization of metallic materials and hybrid structures in contact with hydrogen. These skills have make it possible to continue with the H2MAT+ project as a qualitative leap with respect H2MAT and to pose new, more far-reaching challenges, advancing in the understanding of the behavior of hydrogen in metallic structures and in the way to control or avoid its adverse effects.
Basque Hydrogen Research Day, bringing research and industry closer together
The second edition of the Basque Hydrogen Research Day, organized by the Energy Cluster, brought together more than 140 representatives from RVCTI agents and R&D units of companies working in regards with hydrogen. The H2MAT+ team has valued the forum as a particularly interesting space to present their advances and lines of work in front of an industrial audience. And they are satisfied with the feedback obtaines, assuring that it reaffirms the direction and objectives set by the consortium.
The meeting was also attended by prominent figures from the energy industry such as Camel Makhloufi, CEO of XMEM; Elena Verdú, director of Hydrogen and Synthetic Technologies at Repsol Technology Lab and Jeremy Torregrosa, representative of Alba Emission Free Energy (subsidiary of Petronor). It also had institutional representation with the participation of Jaione Ganzarain, Deputy Minister of Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Basque Government.
