Hydrogen for cement industry decarbonization.
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 · 30% – 110% 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 and certifications
- Project-specific HAZOP + IEC 62061 SIL2/SIL3 architecture + manufacturer-certified ATEX/IECEx components
- 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. Functional safety architecture designed to IEC 62061 (SIL2/SIL3) on Siemens platforms; components in classified areas carry manufacturer ATEX/IECEx certification, Zone 1 and 2.
- 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
- Up to 110%
- IRR (5 years)
Up to 80–150% at 10 years, depending on each plant's conditions.
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.
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.
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 |
| Complementary services | Equipment only, no pyroprocess engineering | Complete engineering: WHR, CFD, conversion, EPC, audits |
| 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.