Sweden's Morphic introduces waste to energy system

Helbio S.A., a Greek subsidiary of Sweden's Morphic Technologies, today introduced a system for converting biogas from sewage into electricity and heat, and a lead customer.

In the system, heat or electricity is extracted from biogas from sewage. Biogas from the system is converted into hydrogen using a Helbio reformer before being fed to a fuel cell manufactured by Morphic’s Italian subsidiary, Exergy Fuel Cells, in Bologna.

The system has been used for four months by Patras Municipal Corporation for Water Supply and Waste Water Management in Patras, Greece, and produces 20 kW of electrical energy and 25 kW of heat energy, according to the company.

Following a four-month trial period, tests show that the system has lived up to its promise, so Morphic says it has decided to launch this combination of energy systems for wider applications in Europe.

The company claims its system uniquely generates hydrogen that is sufficiently pure to run a fuel cell without contaminating the membranes and catalyst.

“We are pleased with the system’s performance. As far as we know, this is the first time a biogas system with a reformer and fuel cell has been demonstrated in practice. The next step will be to offer products with higher outputs – 125 kW and 250 kW fuel cells – in partnership with Exergy Fuel Cells,” said Xenophon Verykios, CEO of Helbio.

Since 2005 the Morphic Group has been developing environmentally friendly energy systems that enable local production of electricity, heat and hydrogen. The company also develops wind power and solar energy systems.

Late last year, Morphic acquired Swiss energy storage group AccaGen million in its third acquisition of the year (see Morphic Technologies grabs AccaGen for $15.8M.)

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