IREC
IREC is the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, a CERCA institute with TECNIO accreditation. Created in 2008, it aims to contribute to society’s sustainable development with greater industrial competitiveness, by generating research of excellence, building new technologies to address current and future energy-related issues, and ensuring universal access to abundant, inexpensive and sustainable energy. IREC works on Applied Research (aimed at generating knowledge, with an intermediate-term or long-term goal), and on Technology Research (focused on collaboration with Industry to create new technical solutions to bring science and technology to innovation). The Institute’s position is defined by the balance and interaction between these two approaches.
Within IREC, the Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group, involved in the H2SHIFT project, addresses the challenge of developing highly efficient and clean solid-state energy conversion technologies for powering a sustainable society. Based on the group’s knowledge in ionic, electronic and thermal transport combined with the expertise in advanced manufacturing, new energy concepts from the microwatt to the kilowatt range are developed.
IREC contribution within H2SHIFT project
IREC is responsible for the WP4 related to the OITB validation via showcases. Five of the testbeds will be adapted to showcases, in collaboration with some of the project’s industrial partners, to validate the OITB procedure and services.
IREC is also leading the high-temperature electrolysis Test-line #TL1 that consists of mobilizing test stations from the watt- to the MW range for the characterization of advanced technologies based on SOEC or PCEC. The PRIMA platform, led by IREC, will be involved for high-power stacks and systems characterization in real environments. Therefore, real power profiles from installed renewable energy capacity will be injected into the electrolysers and the produced hydrogen will be employed in storage and management of adjacent facilities.