The low-carbon pilot installation of the Ceramics and Glass Technological Center (CTCV), created within the scope of the ECP Green Agenda | Ecocerâmica e Cristalaria de Portugal, which AIP is part of, was the stage this month for the first firing tests of ceramic products that involved mixing natural gas with up to 50% hydrogen and which represent a significant step towards the decarbonization of the industry ceramics.
This project had the collaboration of PRF – Gas Solutions, a gas transport company and builder of gas vehicle refueling stations in Leiria, and Indutor, an oven manufacturer in Batalha, partner companies in the project and both with more than thirty years of experience. experience in their sectors of activity.
In operation at iParque – Parque Tecnológico de Coimbra, parish of Antanhol, that infrastructure is considered pioneering for the ceramics and glassware sector and will soon allow the impact of the use of hydrogen on the properties of products to be assessed.
Although these are still preliminary tests, the introduction of renewable gases such as green hydrogen, along with other energy vectors, will be one of the paths to the decarbonization of this industry.
The hydrogen mixing and injection unit used in these tests, called MIXEO, was entirely designed and developed by PRF Gas Solutions, a company created in 1991. This technology stands out for its potential to promote sustainability and technological innovation in the ceramic sector, reinforcing the commitment to reducing carbon emissions and adopting cleaner energy.
Indutor, founded in 1993, by joining this consortium aims to acquire knowledge that allows improving the equipment produced, using mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen, one hundred percent hydrogen or hybrid solutions that combine these gases with electricity. An additional challenge is understanding the impact of these new forms of heating on the durability of the equipment. In other words, being at the forefront of the transition from natural gas to hydrogen or mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen.
