Hydrobooster ALK · Engineered for cement.
The cement industry operates 24 hours a day, 350+ days a year, in conditions of dust, vibration and extreme temperature. Knergy designs hydrogen technology specifically for this environment — not adapted generic equipment.
100% cement-focused, not generic
While most green hydrogen suppliers design generic equipment for any industry, Knergy focuses on heavy industries with real engineering experience. Every Hydrobooster ALK design decision (outlet pressure, target purity, safety system, injection points, integration into the COP) responds to the real operating conditions of the cement pyroprocess.
Every Nm³ of H₂ unlocks margin on multiple fronts
↓ Kiln thermal consumption
Reduction of 30 to 70 kcal/kg of clinker.
⇆ High-sulfur fuels
Eliminates dependence on low-sulfur petcoke and additives.
↑ Alternative fuel rate (AFR)
More biomass and RDF, less expensive primary fuel.
↑ Clinker production
Sustained increase from greater oxygenation of the pyroprocess.
↓ Clinker/cement ratio
Greater reactivity lowers the ratio: more tons of cement with the same clinker.
↓ Tons of CO₂/year
Direct reduction from a cleaner calcination process.
Three injection points, a single engineering approach
Injection into the calciner
The calciner is the point where 60% of the raw meal calcination occurs. Controlled injection of H₂ and O₂ accelerates combustion kinetics, improves the air-fuel mixture, and allows greater use of alternative fuels without loss of thermal efficiency.
Injection into the main burner
In the rotary kiln's main burner, H₂ injection stabilizes the flame and allows operation with high-sulfur petcoke and low-reactivity RDF. Result: clinker of higher mineralogical quality with lower specific thermal consumption.
Oxygenation of the pyroprocess
The O₂ generated as a byproduct is injected to enrich combustion and unlock the kiln's latent nominal capacity. In plants with thermal bottlenecks, this can translate into 1%–5% additional production with no investment in rotary equipment.
Where the Hydrobooster ALK applies
- Gray clinker (dry process)
- Yes — primary application, kilns > 1.500 TPD
- White clinker
- Yes — experience in Buñol, Andorra, Alicante
- 4–6 stage preheater
- Optimal — maximum utilization
- In-line calciner
- Optimal — native integration
- Old semi-dry kilns
- Case by case — prior evaluation
- Quicklime plants
- Yes — under thermal processes
Four capacities, plus tailored solutions
Compact solution for small kilns, white clinker lines, or an initial pilot phase. Ideal to validate the business case before scaling.
Optimal solution for medium kilns in continuous 24/7 operation. Sweet spot of return on investment for most LATAM cement plants.
Significant thermal substitution in large kilns (> 4.000 TPD). Reference equipment for clients with aggressive decarbonization targets.
Larger capacities under specific design, up to substituting 5% of the primary fuel. For a 2.600 TPD kiln, 1% substitution equals 1.000 Nm³/h of H₂ (5 MW).
Main parameters of the Hydrobooster ALK
- Electrolysis technology
- Industrial alkaline with advanced gas separation
- Purity of H₂ produced
- ≥ 99.8% (post-purification)
- Purity of O₂ produced
- ≥ 99.5%
- Outlet pressure
- Up to 30 bar (no additional compression)
- Specific consumption
- 4.3 – 4.8 kWh/Nm³ of H₂
- Operating regime
- Continuous 24/7 · 20%–100% modulation
- Guaranteed availability
- 96% uptime with critical redundancy
- Delivery format
- Containerized (20'/40' HC) plug & play
- Required connections
- Power, water, drainage, COP-based communication
- Safety certifications
- Cement HAZOP + IEC 62061 SIL2/SIL3 + ATEX/IECEx
- Control integration
- Native integration into the plant COP
- Environmental coverage
- Operation between −20 °C and +50 °C
The cement industry demands durability, not fast response
The choice of electrolysis technology is not academic: it defines the service life, operating costs and system availability over 15 to 20 years.
| Criterio | PEM electrolysis (competition) | Knergy Alkaline electrolysis |
|---|---|---|
| Stack service life | 30.000–60.000 h (membrane sensitive to impurities) | 80.000–100.000 h in real cement operation |
| Tolerance to water quality | Requires ultrapure water (high CAPEX in treatment) | Tolerates standard industrial treated water |
| Use of precious metals (Pt, Ir) | Critical — supply risk and rising cost | Zero — nickel electrodes, stable supply |
| Stack cost | High and volatile (iridium-dependent) | Low, predictable, scalable |
| Behavior in 24/7 operation | Accelerated degradation from thermal cycles | Designed for continuous operation without stoppages |
| Proven industrial maturity | Recent in applications > 1 MW | Decades of validated industrial operation |
Cement HAZOP, not generic
Each system is delivered with an exhaustive HAZOP analysis specific to the cement environment. Siemens IEC 62061 functional safety (SIL2/SIL3); components in ATEX/IECEx Zone 1 and 2 classified area.
- Redundant H₂ leak detection with automatic shutoff in milliseconds.
- Safe venting system with flame arrester on every gas line.
- Physical separation between H₂ and O₂ with continuous cross-purity monitoring.
- Galvanic electrical isolation between rectifier and stack.
- Manual and automatic emergency stop system (E-Stop).
- Native integration with the plant DCS/COP for centralized alarms.
We integrate, certify and hand over technical control to your plant
The difference between Knergy and a traditional supplier is that we do not deliver the equipment and leave. We integrate the Hydrobooster into your operation, train your maintenance personnel, and deliver all documentation with 1:1 manuals.
Certification program
plant operators and technicians certified by Knergy.
24/7 support
remote support center with continuous telemetry.
Maintenance plan
scheduled preventive + corrective with response SLA.
Open documentation
your plant team retains full technical control.
A smart investment that pays for itself
- −75%
- CAPEX vs industry
- $1–3M
- USD/year
- 2–4
- Years ROI
- 110%
- IRR (5 years)
Cost per Nm³/h installed.
Average net savings per plant.
Fast payback.
Up to 80–150% at 10 years.
The business case is built on six simultaneous fronts
Reduction of kiln thermal consumption
H₂ injection as a catalyst reduces specific consumption by 30 to 70 kcal/kg of clinker. In a 4.000 TPD kiln: direct savings of $400,000 to $900,000 USD/year on fuel alone.
Flexibility in the fuel portfolio
Catalyzed combustion allows burning high-sulfur petcoke and low-reactivity fuels without compromising clinker quality. Eliminates dependence on premium petcokes.
Higher alternative fuel rate (AFR)
H₂ stabilizes the flame and allows increasing thermal substitution with RDF and biomass. Each AFR point releases margin: the alternative fuel costs 30%–70% less than the primary one.
Increase in clinker production
Greater oxygenation releases latent nominal capacity. We expect production increases of 2% to 8% with no additional investment in kilns, mills or coolers.
Greater clinker reactivity
A more reactive clinker allows lowering the clinker/cement ratio while maintaining strengths. More tons of cement shipped with the same clinker: one of the strongest levers in the industry.
Direct reduction of tons of CO₂
Each ton of CO₂ avoided is a potential carbon credit, an assured regulatory compliance and a quantifiable reputational asset, calculated per plant.
Pure lease model — 5% down payment
“Finance your decarbonization with just a 5% down payment. Let the savings pay for the equipment.”
Knergy commercial offer · México and USA
The plant executes the project and pays for it directly with the operating savings generated — with no pressure on cash flow, no balance sheet commitment, no diversion of capital from other strategic projects.
| Criterio | Traditional purchase | Knergy lease |
|---|---|---|
| Required initial down payment | 100% of CAPEX upfront | Only 5% of CAPEX |
| Balance sheet impact | Full CAPEX capitalization | Off-balance / OPEX-friendly |
| Client financial risk | High — full exposure to the equipment | Low — the equipment is paid with its savings |
| Internal approval speed | Long — requires investment committee | Fast — decision at operating / OPEX level |
| Maintenance during the lease | Borne by the client | Included in the Knergy contract |
| Purchase option at the end of the term | N/A | Yes, at preferential residual value |
The consolidated answer to all competition
PEM, multi-industry, generic Asian manufacturers, European integrators: the difference, criterion by criterion.
| Criterio | Generic market offerings | Knergy |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial specialization | Generic multi-industry (cement, glass, paper, steel, MSW) | 100% focused on cement — designed from the pyroprocess |
| Electrolysis technology | PEM (short service life in 24/7 cement operation) | Alkaline with advanced gas separation — 80.000+ h |
| Available volumetrics | 10 / 20 / 30 Nm³/h (insufficient for kilns > 2.000 TPD) | 100 / 200 / 300 Nm³/h standard + tailored solutions |
| Scaling capability | Limited for large cement kilns | Designed to substitute up to 5% of the primary fuel |
| Safety system | Generic electrolyzer HAZOP | Exhaustive cement HAZOP + IEC 62061 SIL2/SIL3 |
| 24/7 operation | Not explicitly guaranteed at the hardware level | 96% uptime contractually guaranteed, full redundancy |
| Integration into the Operations Center (COP) | Standalone system, control via proprietary HMI | Native integration into the plant DCS/COP |
| Financial model | Traditional purchase, CAPEX 100% upfront | Pure lease: 5% down, payment with OPEX/savings |
| Supplier team DNA | Hydrogen engineers with no cement experience | Ex-CEMEX, ex-Lafarge, ex-Holcim — 40+ years in cement |
| Complementary services | Equipment only, no pyroprocess engineering | Complete engineering: WHR, CFD, conversion, EPC, audits |
| Documentation and technical ownership | Black box, supplier dependence | 1:1 documentation, plant personnel certification |
| Geographic support coverage | Limited to manufacturing regions | Global: México · USA · Ecuador · LATAM · Europe · Asia · Africa |
Receive the techno-economic assessment of your cement plant
Individual analysis of your pyroprocess within 5 business days. We do not send catalog quotes.