Energy talks and workshop – green hydrogen in Donostia
‘Energy talks’ and workshop event addresses the main challenges of green hydrogen in Donostia / San Sebastian
- The University of the Basque Country and the European consortium ANEMEL, in collaboration with the Materials Physics Center (CFM), will offer the keys to the energy transition through talks given by expert scientists and a roundtable discussion
ENERGY TALKS
March 21, 18:30
Aquarium Donostia /San Sebastián
Public: general
Free entrance until full capacity is reached
ENERGY WORKSHOP
March 22, 16:00
Eureka! Zientzia Museoa
Public: Kids ages 4-10
Moving away from dependence on fossil fuels is a major challenge for today’s society to minimize the impact the climate crisis. The European Union is therefore pursuing several initiatives focused on developing a green and equitable energy transition, one of which concerns hydrogen as an energy vector. All these issues will be discussed at the Energy Talks, which will take place on Friday 21 March at the Donostia Aquarium, in San Sebastian. From 18:30, a series of lectures will be held by experts from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and ANEMEL, a European consortium to produce clean hydrogen from dirty waters. On the 22nd, another activity will take place, this time aimed at the youngest audience: from 16.00, children aged 4 to 10 can take part in a science and culture workshop organized by UPV/EHU, AEMEL and CFM at the Eureka! Zientzia Museoa, where they will learn about the wonders of water as a source of life and, of course, energy.
An asset for Europe’s economy
Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. It is the lightest of all elements, yet its importance in the European economy is growing. It is abundant on our planet, but it is almost always found in association with other elements. Water, for example, consists of hydrogen and oxygen. To obtain pure hydrogen from water we need to apply electricity through a device called an electrolyser. If this electric current also comes from a renewable source we obtain the so-called green hydrogen.
When burnt, hydrogen releases energy, and best of all, without emitting greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. For this reason, this light element it is becoming an important asset for EU countries, which are investing money and human resources in researching the best ways to produce hydrogen using cheaper, more abundant and less polluting resources.
Its importance is such that currently we have what is known as the hydrogen economy, a production model that aims to replace the use of fossil fuels with less polluting methods, ensuring an economy that can operate with the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions. And yes, hydrogen represents one of the highest hopes for this model.
ANEMEL meets the challenge… by using dirty water
Producing green hydrogen in a efficient way remains a challenge in many aspects, but one of the most important is ethical: mankind needs to make an energy transition, but it must be fair for everyone. This is the philosophy behind ANEMEL, a project funded by the European Innovation Council with partners and associated members in nine countries.
The main objective of this European project is to develop an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen while using abundant materials like iron and avoiding the use of other polluting substances such as PFAS (the so-called ‘forever chemicals’).
In addition, and considering that pure water is a valuable resource that should not be wasted, ANEMEL will use dirty water for the production of its hydrogen.
The consortium working on ANEMEL has just been awarded a new European project: ASTERISK, which will make use of all the scientific and technical knowledge developed at ANEMEL but with an increased degree of difficulty, as it will seek to use seawater with minimal treatment to produce green hydrogen.
Using seawater poses significant technical challenges, as the sea contains not only hydrogen and oxygen, but also a mixture of microorganisms, microplastics and other substances that must be removed to produce the green hydrogen. Also, the scientist involved in ASTERISK will have to design the components of the electrolyser without losing sight of the corrosive nature of seawater.
About the speakers
The ‘Energy talks’ will feature three scientists with extensive hydrogen background knowledge:
- Pau Farrás, coordinator of the ANEMEL consortium and researcher at University of Galway, Ireland.
- Núria López will speak on behalf of the group she leads, called Simulations in Catalysis, at the Institut Català d’Investigació Química – ICIQ, based in Barcelona.
- Sara Barja, researcher at the Nanophysics Lab San Sebastian, will speak on behalf of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)
After the presentations by these scientists, a round table discussion will begin, moderated by Yanko Iruin, professor of physical chemistry and well-known member of the UPV University.