Clariant and Technip Energy Launch Groundbreaking EARTH® Technology to Reduce CO2 Emissions from the Steam Methane Reforming Reforming Process

●EARTH heat exchange reforming technology is a breakthrough technology for the production of blue hydrogen by steam methane reforming

● This drop-in solution offers producers a cost-effective way to save energy and increase production while reducing CO2 emissions

● The first commercial operation results show that under the premise of the same output, CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and pressure drop are greatly reduced

Munich/Shanghai, November 17, 2021

Clariant's focus on sustainable development has repeatedly paid off
.
The collaboration between Technip Energies' innovative technology solutions and Clariant's expertise in catalysis led to the birth of EARTH technology
.
This breakthrough technology in the field of steam methane reforming can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%
.
EARTH, which stands for "Enhanced Annular Reforming Tube for Hydrogen," has performed well in its first commercial run and has secured two major new contracts
.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Catalysts Business Unit at Clariant, explained the urgent need for this new technology: "Hydrogen production from hydrocarbons requires a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
.
With EARTH technology, we are able to significantly reduce steam reforming In addition, EARTH
can not only help producers achieve their sustainability goals, but also significantly increase the productivity and efficiency of their plants
.
”

Stan Knez, Chief Technology Officer, Technip Energy added: "We are excited to launch EARTH technology in partnership with our catalyst partner Clariant
.
This is part of our BlueH2 by T.
EN® family of blue hydrogen solutions.
A key technology enabling more sustainable hydrogen and syngas production that the market has been seeking
.
We look forward to further outstanding performance results
.
”

The EARTH technology is a drop-in solution, so it works well for existing as well as new reformers
.
This technology has been adopted by the Akkim hydrogen (hydrogen/carbon monoxide syngas) plant since January 2019 and has shown excellent and stable performance
.
The performance so far has been excellent: CO2 emissions have been reduced by 20% and fossil fuel consumption has been reduced by almost 40% for the same hydrogen and carbon monoxide production
.

In addition, Clariant and Technip Energy were awarded two other new EARTH contracts
.
The first contract was for Repsol to select the technology for its 21,000 Nm3/h hydrogen plant in Cartagena, Spain
.
Scheduled to start up in February 2023, the plant uses feedstocks from multiple sources including natural gas and hydrogen-rich tail gas
.
Another contract is an upgrade of an existing unit at a European hydrogen plant
.
The two different projects share a common expectation: to achieve considerable environmental and economic benefits
.

Developed and patented by Technip Energy, the EARTH technology consists of a central tube assembly assembled in a steam methane reforming reformer tube and structured catalyst packed in an outer annular space
.
The unit ensures heat recovery and high conversion at the same time
.
The technology uses a new structured catalyst jointly developed and designed by Clariant and Technip Chemical Engineering, which maximizes activity and thermal conductivity in addition to low pressure drop
.
Despite the thermal and mechanical stress and the reduced volume of the EARTH catalyst bed during the steam reforming conversion process, the catalyst still exhibits excellent performance due to its excellent stability and mechanical strength
.

Turkey Akkim (Hydrogen/CO Syngas) Plant (Source: Akkim)

3D renderings of the new Repsol factory in Spain (Source: Repsol)