8 Rivers Capital announced the development of the 8RH2 CO₂ Convective Reformer—a technology for the production of ultra-low carbon hydrogen from natural gas. The 8RH2 technology has been invented by Rodney Allam MBE, a chemical engineer from Bath in the UK, who also pioneered the Allam-Fetvedt-Cycle (AFC) cycle.

The Allam-Fetvedt Cycle is a new type of power cycle that takes a novel approach to emissions reduction. It uses the oxy-combustion of carbon fuels and a high-pressure supercritical CO₂ working fluid in a highly recuperated cycle that captures all emissions by design. The only by-products are liquid water and a stream of high-purity, pipeline-ready CO₂.

8RH2 harnesses advanced CO₂ processes in a CO₂ Convective Reformer (CCR), including some of the same processes pioneered in the AFC.

While many carbon capture technologies target a 90-96% capture rate, the 8RH2 oxy-combustion process will eliminate virtually all direct CO₂ emissions. Unlike standard hydrogen production, 8RH2 uses natural gas and pure oxygen and then utilizes the CO₂ produced in the combustion process as a heat transfer medium in a proprietary reformer before sequestering the CO2.

8RH2’s advanced process eliminates the need for costly amine or cryogenic-based CO₂ separation processes that are normally required to capture CO₂, as carbon separation is inherent to the process itself.

The ultra-low carbon hydrogen then can be turned into ultra-low carbon ammonia, which in turn can be used for decarbonized fertilizer, zero-carbon maritime fuels, and as a zero-carbon feedstock fuel to replace coal in existing power infrastructure. Ammonia is easily stored in bulk at modest pressures, has an existing global distribution network, and is easier to transport than hydrogen.

Ammonia can be easily ‘cracked’ back into hydrogen after reaching its end user. 8RH2-produced ammonia will provide a transportable low-carbon source of hydrogen, a low-cost and scalable solution to accelerate the global transition to net-zero.

8 Rivers Capital, LLC is a Durham, North Carolina–based climate technology company. Founded in 2008, 8 Rivers develops technologies and delivers projects across multiple energy categories including but not limited to:

• Clean Fuels: ultra-low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production.

• Clean Power: transformative zero-emissions power cycles.

• Carbon Removal: hyper-efficient direct air capture.

• Clean Industry: retrofit-ready post-combustion carbon capture for steel, cement, and power generation.