pHyBios – Pure Hydrogen from Biogas-Assisted Electrolysis
The pHyBios project (Pure Hydrogen from Biogas-Assisted Electrolysis) is a German-Greek research partnership uniting IZES and moehwald (Germany) with CERTH and DELVEC (Greece) with the aim of developing an innovative Solid Oxide Fuel-assisted Electrolysis Cell (SOFEC), for the operation with biogas. Its ambition is to transform Europe’s enormous biogas potential into a driver for cost-effective, flexible, and sustainable hydrogen production. By combining electricity and biogas as ‘internal’ inputs, SOFECs can drastically reduce or even eliminate the consumption of electricity supplied from ‘external’ sources, lower the cost of hydrogen production, and offer operational flexibility by switching between hydrogen and electricity generation. Over 36 months, the project will advance the technology readiness level from 2 to 4, moving from concept to a validated prototype.
Five work packages (WP) structure pHyBios:
- WP1 covers coordination, dissemination, and bilateral cooperation;
- WP2 develops advanced materials tailored for biogas utilisation;
- WP3 designs and tests a short SOFEC stack on moehwald’s advanced bench test system;
- WP4 models and simulates the integration into biogas plants as part of the energy system, creating a digital twin for optimisation;
- WP5 delivers holistic assessments of materials life cycle, economic, and social impacts, while developing viable business models and replication roadmaps.
Expected results include a higher electrical efficiency than conventional SOECs, reduced hydrogen production costs, and validated dual-mode operation (electrolysis & fuel cell). Beyond technological breakthroughs, pHyBios will strengthen German–Greek cooperation through researcher exchanges, workshops, and joint publications, laying the groundwork for long-term collaboration and follow-up EU projects. Ultimately, pHyBios will deliver a validated prototype, performance data, and clear commercialisation pathways, contributing directly to the EU Green Deal and Hydrogen Strategy.
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