H2SITE’s Membrane Separator Paves Road to Hydrogen Infrastructure, Economy

With an upcoming hydrogen-natural gas separation project between H2SITE and SNAM, Turbomachinery International reached out for additional project, technology, and overall market insight from Andres Galnares, CEO of H2SITE. He offered a technical breakdown of H2SITE’s palladium-alloy membrane, how the technology is and will be deployed across industry, and hydrogen’s impact on natural gas infrastructure.

TURBO: How will the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment support the membrane separator technology in Europe?

Galnares: The Italian Regulatory Authority (ARERA) is playing a proactive role in facilitating the integration of hydrogen technologies into the energy system. While it does not directly fund specific innovations such as membrane separators, ARERA supports regulatory frameworks and pilot initiatives that create the right conditions for testing and deploying these technologies.

By promoting regulatory sandboxes and aligning with European directives, ARERA enables the demonstration of advanced hydrogen solutions within real gas networks. Its involvement helps reduce the regulatory uncertainty that often delays the adoption of breakthrough technologies. In this context, ARERA is promoting a project in which H2SITE and SNAM S.p.A. collaborate to separate hydrogen from natural gas within the Italian gas infrastructure.

TURBO: What are the challenges with the palladium-alloy membrane separator? How does it work on a technical level?

Galnares: H2SITE’s technology is based on palladium-alloy membranes that are selectively permeable only to hydrogen, ensuring fuel cell purity levels. These membranes enable the selective separation of hydrogen from carrier molecules that are easy to transport, widely available, and regulated under established frameworks, such as ammonia, methanol, and syngas. They also allow hydrogen extraction from mixtures within existing infrastructures, including natural gas pipelines, salt caverns, aquifers, and other storage systems.

These membranes operate at elevated temperatures, typically between 300 - 500° C. Beyond their core functionality, H2SITE’s membrane systems offer several advantages:

• Higher Efficiency: Advanced membrane separators enable greater hydrogen recovery at lower operating temperatures, improving energy efficiency and system performance.
• Optimized Recovery: Integrated membrane solutions maximize feedstock conversion and hydrogen extraction, ensuring minimal waste and maximum output.
• Exceptional Purity: With high selectivity to hydrogen, our palladium-alloy membranes deliver the purity needed for fuel cells and other high-performance applications.
• Operational Flexibility: H2SITE systems are robust, easy to operate, and capable of handling a variety of feedstocks, adapting to diverse use cases and customer needs.

TURBO: Where will this technology be most useful?

Galnares: H2SITE is committed to addressing one of the biggest challenges in the hydrogen economy: transportation. Instead of relying on centralized production and complex logistics, H2SITE enables onsite hydrogen generation from carriers such as ammonia, methanol, and syngas, particularly in locations where hydrogen transport is difficult or expensive. The technology is already being deployed across multiple applications, including:

• Hydrogen production from ammonia for large imports arriving at regions with a lower production potential than the demand requirements.
• Separating streams of natural hydrogen, especially when combined with helium. Since H2SITE separates only hydrogen, it also produces a stream of pure helium.
• Onboard ammonia cracking for hydrogen production in the maritime sector, supporting shipping decarbonization.
• Hydrogen extraction from industrial feedstocks like syngas enables cleaner hydrogen integration into refining and chemical processes.

TURBO: Can you provide details on the technology’s validation across gas distribution grid operators?

Galnares: H2SITE’s membrane technology has undergone several validation campaigns across Europe in collaboration with major gas operators. Through the H2SAREA project, H2SITE successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of its palladium-alloy membrane technology for extracting hydrogen blended within natural gas networks. In partnership with Nortegas, a membrane separator was installed and operated for thousands of hours in the gas distribution network in Zamudio, Spain. The system could separate hydrogen from blends containing 5% to 20% hydrogen, achieving over 99% purity and a 97% recovery rate.

These results validate the feasibility of using existing gas infrastructure to transport hydrogen-natural gas mixtures while enabling onsite hydrogen separation at the point of use. The extracted hydrogen meets the purity requirements for fuel cell applications, even starting from low-concentration blends. Additionally, the project contributed to advancing technologies for the safe and efficient distribution of hydrogen through existing gas networks, addressing challenges related to materials, components, and system integration.

TURBO: What is the importance of reducing hydrogen content in leftover natural gas? What are the negative consequences associated with high hydrogen content in natural gas?

Galnares: We see transporting the two gases in the same pipeline as an opportunity to transition progressively into a hydrogen economy; however, as with any technology, there needs to be a plan to deal with the infrastructure. A high hydrogen content in the residual gas can lead to safety concerns, as hydrogen burns differently, and the industrial processes need to be set up for a different gas class to adapt.

It can also cause problems for end users since many systems aren’t designed to handle hydrogen-rich gas. Additionally, most gas networks have strict limits on hydrogen concentration to ensure compliance and system stability. By efficiently extracting hydrogen onsite, our technology helps maximize value, improve safety, and ensure the reliability of the existing gas infrastructure.

TURBO: How does the membrane separator intersect with hydrogen storage applications?

Galnares: H2SITE's membrane separators play a crucial role in hydrogen storage applications by enabling the recovery of high-purity hydrogen from various storage mediums, such as salt caverns, depleted natural gas deposits, or aquifers. These underground facilities store hydrogen for extended periods, ensuring a stable supply despite fluctuations in production and demand.

The technology achieves a 98% extraction rate, delivering fuel-cell-grade hydrogen in a single step.​ The compact design of H2SITE's membranes allows for a minimal footprint while permeating substantial amounts of stored hydrogen with minimal surface area. This efficiency ensures that the extracted hydrogen meets the highest purity standards required for various applications, including fuel cells and industrial processes.

TURBO: How does H2SITE expect its membrane separator to be used in the future?

Galnares: H2SITE anticipates that its membrane separator technology will be instrumental in addressing hydrogen transportation challenges by enabling onsite hydrogen production from various carrier molecules. The company focuses on transporting molecules commoditized in production and supply chains and has well-defined regulatory frameworks, such as ammonia, dimethyl ether, formic acid, and methanol. ​

This approach allows for efficient hydrogen generation directly at the point of use, reducing reliance on extensive hydrogen transport infrastructure. H2SITE envisions applications across multiple sectors, including heavy-duty transport through onboard ammonia cracking, onsite hydrogen production for industrial processes, and large-scale infrastructure projects converting ammonia back to hydrogen at ports. By integrating reaction and separation stages into a single process, the membrane reactors enhance conversion efficiency and reduce energy requirements, facilitating the adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy source.

TURBO: What role does SNAM play in this initiative?

Galnares: SNAM is strategically supporting the deployment and validation of H2SITE’s membrane separation technology within the Italian gas network. By providing access to its infrastructure, sharing technical know-how, and supplying operational data for field testing, SNAM is helping to ensure that this solution is ready for real-world application. In parallel, the company is actively evaluating how the technology aligns with broader decarbonization strategies, regulatory frameworks, and future grid development.

This collaboration represents a milestone in advancing hydrogen technologies and their integration into existing gas infrastructure, underscoring both companies’ commitment to driving forward Europe’s energy transition.