Hazer Group Ltd (ASX:HZR) has exceeded capacity targets by 300% in its successfully upgraded and commissioned 2nd generation pre-pilot plant, also known as the FBR pilot plant.
The plant is testing the Hazer Process, a low-emission hydrogen and graphite production process technology.
A total of 40 kilograms of graphite and 10 kilograms of hydrogen has been produced from five initial test runs with the largest haul from a single run being 12.4 kilograms of graphite.
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Hazer’s acting CEO Mark Edwards said: “Since the 1st generation pre-pilot plant results, we rapidly progressed the technical development of the Hazer process.
“In doing so, we have exceeded our expectations and now have a true pilot plant with a proven production capacity that is a relevant demonstration of Hazer’s reactor technology.
“Our focus is now shifting to the commercialisation phase where we will develop multiple strategies to generate revenue from this exciting new technology.”
Testing to continue
Initial testing of the FBR Pilot Plant conducted over the past month focussed on validating operations of the new systems and increasing the average production capacity for both graphite and hydrogen product.
Testing will continue but with the focus shifting to optimising the purity of the products in conjunction with a rigorous regime of extended continuous operation testing.
Hazer aims to increase product purity this September quarter and then increase the run duration of the plant to over 24 hours by the end of this calendar year.
Edwards added: “The next stage of testing on the FBR pilot plant will be to focus on the purities of the hydrogen and graphite products, even though they are already in commercial ranges, further optimisation will improve economics before they are post purified using conventional systems.”