WZR to use Lithoz CeraFab Additive Manufacturing for green hydrogen production
June 22, 2023
Lithoz GmbH, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, reports it has delivered a CeraFab S65 Additive Manufacturing machine to WZR Ceramic Solutions GmbH, a material development service provider for ceramic AM based in Rheinbach, Germany.
As part of the Redox3D project – which aims to produce green hydrogen in solar tower powerplants through thermochemical processes – WZR Ceramic Solutions will use high-precision Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM) technology for the construction of cerium oxide components with highly complex lattice structures, in order to generate hydrogen independently from fossil energy sources. This solar-thermochemical process uses an additively manufactured ceramic material as the key enabler and sunlight as the primary energy source; the project is reportedly considered to be a key solution in realising zero emission societies.
Under the project, WZR is partnering with the DLR (German Aerospace Center) in order to determine the ideal lattice structure for the optimum solar heat penetration into cerium oxide components, a mission that has received funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action (03EE5124A). WZR identified Lithoz’s Additive Manufacturing machine as a potential technology to develop this solution, with CeraFab S65 being their first AM machine using DLP technology.
Dr Johannes Homa, Lithoz CEO, shared his excitement at being part of “such important research, especially because we consider hydrogen generated with renewable energy the number one solution to save our planet from further climate change. Lithoz is committed to supporting such projects using the industrial standard of LCM technology to make zero emission societies a reality!”
The project will commence in two phases over a total span of three years. The first phase will test and optimise different Additive Manufacturing techniques to precisely control and process the cerium oxide ceramic material, with the key technology then being selected. In the second phase, the optimal structures will be designed, supported by calculations of project partner DLR, and then applied to complete the project. The filigree structure produced must be extremely complex in order to enable the deepest possible penetration of solar energy into the cerium oxide component, which is crucial to achieving the highest efficiency in the energy generation process.
“Using Lithoz’s powerful 3D printing technology and their proactive partnership approach, we are confident that we will achieve the levels of complexity and intricacy in filigree structures needed to achieve our goals in this project,” explained Dr Dieter Nikolay, Managing Partner WZR. “Thanks to the speed and high-quality surface finish of this technique, we will once again be able to further drive innovation forward, this time with the production of green hydrogen.”
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