Waste-to-Hydrogen
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Waste-to-Hydrogen

Waste-to-Hydrogen (W2H) is a sustainable resource circulation technology that
produces hydrogen by utilizing biogas generated from organic waste.

Biogas generated from organic waste such as food waste, livestock manure, and sewage sludge
is refined to increase its methane content. The upgraded biogas then undergoes
a reforming process using Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) technology to produce hydrogen.

01

Pre-treatment

02

Biogas Production

03

Biogas Upgrading

04

Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) & CO conversion

05

Hydrogen Upgrading

Step 01

Pre-treatment

Shred organic waste, such as food waste and sewage sludge, and remove impurities, then transfer to an anaerobic digester.

Step 02

Biogas Production

Convert pre-treated organic waste into biogas, composed of methane and CO2, through anaerobic digestion.

Step 03

Biogas Upgrading

Remove hydrogen sulfide and siloxanes from biogas, then separate CO₂ using Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) to produce high-purity methane exceeding 95%.

Step 04

Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) & CO conversion

React high-purity methane with steam at high temperatures over a catalyst to produce a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

Step 05

Hydrogen Upgrading

Produce high-purity hydrogen (≥90.995%) through Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA).

Hydrogen Reformer

  • Hydrogen Reformer

    Hyundai Rotem’s hydrogen extractor—commonly known as a reformer—can produce up to 640kg of ultra-high purity hydrogen (99.995% or higher) per day by reforming methane, the main component of natural gas or biogas, through a reaction with steam.
    The system is designed as a skid-mounted unit* that integrates compression, reforming, and purification processes into a single compact module, making it easy to transport and install.

    *Skid-mounted unit: A modular system where various components are pre-assembled on a single frame for convenient deployment.

  • Uiwang R&D facility

    Hyundai Rotem has established an H₂ Equipment Assembly Center at its Uiwang R&D facility, with the capacity to produce up to 20 hydrogen extractors per year. Combined, these units can generate up to 4,700 tons of hydrogen annually—enough to fully fuel around 850,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles, based on the NEXO model.

    H2 Production Capacity
    640kg/day Enough to fuel 128 Hyundai NEXO vehicles
    H2 Purity
    99.995% or higher
    Feedstock
    Biogas, Natural Gas