The 4th HERMES Newsletter is Out! 29.06.2026

WELCOME TO HERMES:

Hydrogen Efficient Purification Using Membranes In Industrial Gas Streams

The HERMES project is advancing next-generation hydrogen separation and purification by developing, scaling up, and demonstrating two innovative membrane technologies—palladium-based and carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes. The project will design and build two prototypes and validate them at industrial sites in Italy and Türkiye. Launched on 1 January 2025 and coordinated by H2SITE, HERMES aims to significantly reduce purification costs and accelerate the deployment of efficient hydrogen technologies. Regular newsletters will share updates on progress, events, and key milestones as the solutions move toward real-world application.

PROJECT PROGRESS UPDATE

During the first 18 months, HERMES partners have successfully advanced:

• Development and optimisation of membrane materials (Pd and CMS)

• Integration strategies for industrial gas streams

• Engineering design activities for pilot-scale systems

  
  

The next phase will focus on:

• Pilot construction and installation

• Validation under real industrial conditions

• Performance benchmarking against conventional purification systems

  
  

This step is critical to achieving the project’s objective of reducing hydrogen purification costs and increasing process efficiency at industrial scale.

The session provided key insights into existing gaps in hydrogen standardisation frameworks, as well as ongoing efforts to improve regulatory and technical alignment for hydrogen technologies and derivatives.

In addition, the webinar addressed broader challenges affecting hydrogen deployment, including environmental permitting procedures, regulatory barriers, and lessons learned from European hydrogen projects and initiatives.

The event attracted a diverse audience from industry, research, and policy, supporting knowledge exchange and fostering dialogue on accelerating the efficient and safe deployment of hydrogen solutions.

DESIIRE Project Joins the European Hydrogen Innovation Cluster, Strengthening Collaboration Across Europe

The DESIREE project contributes to Europe’s ambition to accelerate the transition toward climate neutrality by advancing high-efficiency renewable hydrogen production technologies based on Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOEL). Addressing key challenges such as material degradation and high system costs, the project adopts a holistic, multi-level approach, developing innovations at cell, stack, and system levels, including advanced cell designs, improved stack architectures, modular system integration, and optimised control strategies. DESIREE aims to demonstrate a scalable multi-stack 40 kW SOEL system under relevant operating conditions, delivering validated performance and durability data while reducing the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen, energy consumption, and overall system costs. Circularity is embedded through the recovery of valuable materials and the development of robust testing protocols to ensure long-term reliability. With a consortium of 12 partners from 6 countries, the project supports the transition from early-stage research toward scalable solutions, aligning with the objectives of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and strengthening Europe’s leadership in next-generation electrolysis technologies.

Follow the progress of the European Hydrogen Innovation Cluster on social media with the #EUH2cluster.

Hydrogen is set to play a central role in Europe’s journey toward climate neutrality. With its wide range of applications across industry, transport, and energy systems, it is a key driver for decarbonisation, competitiveness, and energy autonomy.

At a time when Europe faces challenges around energy affordability, raw material supply, and sustainable industrial growth, hydrogen offers a powerful opportunity to strengthen a resilient European value chain and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

This project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members under the grant agreement No 101192352. This Partnership receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe research.