LOReley

The project in a nutshell: The modification of a simple plate heat exchanger setup to a compact, high-performance chemical reactor.

With its research and demonstration tasks, the LOReley project aims to solve some of the existing problems and questions in the field of material-based energy storage. This includes both technological and economic aspects. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) represent a promising option for the safe, scalable and cost-efficient storage of hydrogen. LOReleys research focus lies in the development and construction of a novel dehydrogenation reactor concept with an average output of at least 1 kW and a peak output of 5 kW (based on the released hydrogen) for LOHCs on the basis of laser-structured surfaces, which enable a significant simplification of the reactor construction and thereby unprecedented space-time yields. The project thus contributes to the cost-effective and sustainable storage of excess energy. Overarching scientific goals lie in the use of low-precious metal catalysts for the LOHC process through optimized structuring and coating processes on planar catalyst panels.