UPC Hydrogen Technologies Laboratory

The new UPC Hydrogen technologies laboratory and pilot plant will be located in Building C at Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE) which in the Diagonal-Besòs Campus of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in Barcelona Spain. This continually evolving laboratory will be dedicated to exploring and testing a wide range of hydrogen technologies from production, storage to usage.

The three main pillars of the laboratory will be showcasing hydrogen technology, industrial product testing and research. The UPC has dedicated a brand-new space of 340m2 for the lab and a roof space of approximately 200m2 for solar panels, electrolyzers, hydrogen storage and fuel cells.  A sustainable energy management system will be designed around the needs of the lab in terms of electrical energy and hydrogen demands for the experiments in the lab. All the hydrogen that will be used in the lab will be produced self-produced.

Laboratorio

Now more than ever it is critical to get hydrogen technologies to market for carbon neutrality as well as energy security.

Goals of the lab: 

  • Showcase hydrogen technology in real world applications 

  • Provide support to industry to get the technology to market 

  • Integration and software solutions 

  • Modeling and design development 

  • Provide the infrastructure for fundamental research 

Research Lines: 

Hydrogen productions technologies

  • Electrolyzer 

  • Photocatalysis 

  • Thermochemical cycles 

  • Biofuel Reformers 

Hydrogen Storage technologies

  • Hydrogen compressor (mechanical and electrochemical) 

  • Compressed hydrogen tank 

  • Metal hydride 

  • H2 valves and connectors 

Hydrogen Applications technologies

  • As a heat source 

  • Energy conversion devices 

  • Conversion into synthetic liquid fuels (alcohols, ammonia, exc..) 

  • Synthetic gas fuels (methanation, syngas) 

People Making the Lab a Global Success

Scientific Lead for the Energy Technologies and Vice Chancellor of Research of the UPC

Jordi Llorca is Full Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). He works in the development of catalysts and in the design of catalytic reactors, including membrane reactors and microreactors. He has been working in the on-site, on-board reforming of sustainable sources for the production of hydrogen as well as in photocatalytic routes and thermochemical cycles for more than 20 years.

Scientific Lead for the UPC H2 Technologies Laboratory and Pilot Plant

Professor Attila Husar is a professor in the department of fluid mechanics at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). With a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering his research focuses on hydrogen fuel cell modeling, control and integration into real world applications from automotive to stationary systems. He has more than 20 years of combined experience in industry and academia, designing and developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. He strongly believes that hydrogen, as an energy vector, has to play a key role in a sustainable and carbon neutral society.

Lead Technician for System Integration and Characterization of H2 Technologies

Vicente Roda Serrat is a technician at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya with experience in the H2 technologies sector since 2008. He has worked at a variety of centers in the manufacturing of fuel cells to the integration of systems both in the laboratory and in private instillations for both stationary and mobile applications.

Scientific Lead for the UPC chemical and electrochemical processes

Dr. Lluis Soler Turu is a currently a “Ramon y Cajal” research fellow at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya specialized on heterogeneous catalysis, catalytic reactors for energy and environmental applications and fabrication of advanced nanomaterials. His research interests are in the areas of energy, engineering, chemistry and materials science, spanning from nanotechnology, catalysis, photocatalysis, reaction engineering and green hydrogen production processes.

Lead Technician for UPC Chemical and Electrochemical processes

Isabel Serrano Carreño is a technician at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya where works on the preparation and evaluation of catalysts to operate in heterogeneous catalysis in reactions for energy and environmental applications. She has been working in the manufacturing of catalytic devices by 3D-printing and use them in different processes for the catalytic and photocatalytic production of hydrogen.

Exterior Views of the Lab

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Please contact us at [email protected] for any additional information regarding the lab and its activities, or if we can be of service to you in the development of your project.