Biovoima’s BIOadapter pressure reduction unit to ensure Hycamite’s clean hydrogen and carbon production

Biovoima supplies a BIOadapter^CH4 pressure reduction unit to Hycamite in Kokkola, Finland. Hycamite is currently constructing a hydrogen production plant scheduled for completion in autumn 2024. The BIOadapter^CH4 is needed at the plant’s gas reception station.

The BIOadapter^CH4 can be used as a gas pressure reduction unit at the usage site like Hycamite does, but also for injecting biomethane into the gas grid. According to Hycamite’s Technology Concept Director, Mathias Ukskoski, the BIOadapter^CH4 is intended to enable the reception of biomethane from gas transfer containers, thereby ensuring continuous gas availability and the plant’s production reliability. The BIOadapter^CH4 enables the integration of biomethane and natural gas into the plant’s production process by reducing the gas pressure during reception, making it possible to use high-pressure gas delivered in containers.

“In our plant, biomethane is used in the production process, where the thermocatalytic decomposition of methane molecules produces clean hydrogen and industrial-quality solid carbon efficiently by breaking down methane using emission-free technology. The end products are clean hydrogen for industrial use and solid, industrial-grade carbon, which can be utilized in various industrial sectors. The carbon is also further processed into graphite, which is important for the automotive industry, for example, in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries,” says Ukskoski.

New applications for Biovoima’s technologies emerging in the future

Biovoima’s technologies are designed with biomethane and biogas plants in mind, but the energy sector’s transition and green shift are expanding the use of these same technological solutions in other gas-based industries and energy production sectors. One of these is the rapidly growing field of hydrogen production.

Biovoima’s CEO, Eero Tilsala, sees the BIOadapter solution delivered to Hycamite as a fascinating example of industrial production that involves the use of renewable energy and biomethane along with efficient innovations. “Customizability is a fundamental aspect of our products, but we are ready to quickly respond with product development to new opportunities that the green shift brings, for example, in the field of hydrogen production,” says Tilsala.

Biovoima is a turnkey technology supplier and integrator as well as a general contractor for new and modernization projects related to biomethane and biogas. Biovoima also offers maintenance and operation services for plants, as well as logistics and distribution solutions related to biomethane.

Hycamite produces clean hydrogen and industrial-quality solid carbon by splitting methane using proprietary zero-emission technology. It is based on the thermo-catalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane molecules. In other words, we break the methane with our catalyst and heat. Our novel methane pyrolysis technology requires only 13% of the energy needed to produce hydrogen by electrolysis. As a cutting-edge carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology, Hycamite’s solution enables the creation of carbon sinks, providing clients with industrial-quality carbon fit for demanding applications, such as Li-ion batteries, composite materials and filter purifiers.