Green hydrogen, joint laboratory with McPhy Energy

Producing "clean" hydrogen through environmentally sustainable procedures is the common goal of the University of Florence and McPhy Energy, which inaugurated this morning the Joint Research Laboratory Green Hydrogen Production Technologies (H2tech), at the Calenzano laboratory named LINEA.

This new partnership builds upon a successful collaboration initiated three years ago between Unifi and McPhy, a company specialising in electrolysers for generating green hydrogen.H2tech will concentrate on pioneering state-of-the-art technologies for sustainable hydrogen production, prioritising electrolysis methods and the industrial enhancement of electrolysers.

Al taglio del nastro erano presenti il prorettore al trasferimento tecnologico, attività culturali e impatto sociale Marco Pierini, il responsabile scientifico di H2tech e docente Unifi Alessandro Bianchini, il sindaco di Calenzano Giuseppe Carovani e il Chief Technology Officer di McPhy Benoît Barrière.  

Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Marco Pierini, Vice-Rector for Technology Transfer, Cultural Activities and Social Impact, Alessandro Bianchini, Scientific Manager of H2tech and Unifi Professor, Giuseppe Carovani, Mayor of Calenzano, and Benoît Barrière, Chief Technology Officer of McPhy.

Drawing on its extensive experience, the University will perform scientific analyses and tailored technical tests in the laboratory, aiming to guarantee that McPhy's technological solutions achieve superior performance and peak safety.

This agreement further highlights the significance of geographical proximity, as a McPhy production and testing facility is situated in San Miniato, a town close to Florence.

The University of Florence is tackling research on green hydrogen and, more generally, on the energy transition with a multidisciplinary approach that ranges from cutting-edge studies on technical aspects to advancements in politics and economics – declares Rector Alessandra Petrucci –. In this perspective, technology transfer to industry is a pillar of this approach. Hence, we are truly delighted to inaugurate this new joint laboratory with McPhy, marking the culmination of several years of successful collaboration.

The new experimental facility – she continues – will integrate the new Calenzano laboratories, which are a flagship of our engineering research and will represent the perfect framework for synergistic research since they also host a variety of other test benches to study both hydrogen compression and clean combustion.

"We are extremely pleased with this newly established joint laboratory in collaboration with a prestigious university, states Benoît Barrière. McPhy collaborates with numerous academic institutes globally, enhancing our position as a forefront leader in the field of green hydrogen production equipment. Indeed – he continues – combining our industrial expertise and technological innovation with the fundamental research of academic institutions facilitates the creation of more efficient solutions, speeds up the optimisation of technologies and helps to anticipate future needs in the most effective way possible".