1414 and team make SiPHyR project official

Thermal energy storage company 1414 Degrees has launched a three-year R&D project on a new methane pyrolysis technology, signing a partnership agreement with the companies and institutions involved.

The technology team includes experts from University of Adelaide (UofA), oil and gas company Woodside, Vulcan Steel, and RMIT University, and is supported by a $2.5 million Cooperative Research Centres Project grant announced in February. 

It will develop ASX-listed 1414 Degrees’ SiPHyR (SiBrick integrated Pyrolytic Hydrogen Reactor), which makes use of the company’s SiBricks – a modular silicon-based thermal energy storage technology – and technology developed at UofA. 

SiPHyR aims to produce “lower-emissions hydrogen at a cost comparable to current emissions-intensive  methods, targeting less than US$2 per kilogram” as well as solid carbon from natural gas feedstock.

The announcement follows news in April that 1414 Degrees had acquired exclusive rights to a dual column bubble reactor invention for producing net zero hydrogen from natural gas from the University of Adelaide (UoA.) 

“The signing of the Agreement is a critical milestone,” said Executive Chairman Dr Kevin Moriarty in a statement on Thursday

“The contribution from Woodside will support the integration of our silicon thermal energy  storage with a new fluid reactor technology to potentially reduce hydrogen production costs and  emissions.” 

A $1 million contribution will be made by Woodside, made up of cash and in-kind support through subject matter expertise.

Woodside has separately partnered with 1414 Degrees on the SiBox Demonstration Module (SDM), a thermal energy storage system for process heat and making use of SiBricks, with completion of a demonstration project announced this year.

The CRC Project is budgeted at $5.2 million over three years and aims to take SiPHyR from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 to TRL 5. The project will also include a detailed plan for a scaled demonstration at  TRL 7 “within two years of this project’s completion”.

Picture: a storage brick (credit 1414 Degrees)

Further reading

1414 Degrees acquires new hydrogen technology

1414 Degrees demonstrates storage and discharge of industrial process heat

1414 Degrees commissions molten silicon energy storage system