(Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division New Electrochemical Technology (NET) Award Address) Development and Commercialization of Large Scale PEM Water Electrolysis

Abstract

Keywords: PEM Electrolyzer, Power to Gas, Mega Watt (MW) In future energy systems with high percentages of fluctuating renewable energy generation, electricity storage will become increasingly important for the utilization of surplus energy. Among several electricity storage options, the Power to Gas technology is one promising option for solving the challenge of long-term electricity storage [1]. In this approach, excess renewable energy is converted via water electrolysis to hydrogen and used directly as an energy storage medium or it can go thru further conversion to methane [2]. To fully utilize the potential of Power to Gas, large-scale technology implementation should be accelerated so the costs are driven down. PEM electrolyzers need to become quickly available on multi-mega watt (MW) scale [3]. Hydrogenics has been developing water electrolysis technology based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) since the late 1990s. Driven by Power to Gas applications and corresponding cost modeling, Hydrogenics increased the scale of its PEM water electrolysis stack and launched its new MW scale electrolysis platform in 2014. This MW scale platform is still the most compact, highest capacity PEM electrolyzer cell stack in the world and capable of absorbing 3 MW of electricity with a single stack. To date, Hydrogenics has delivered numerous MW systems globally, with the majority of them in Power to Gas, renewable energy storage and grid balancing applications. Hydrogenics is developing the next-generation systems with continuing focus on cost reduction through technology innovation and scale up. With the market introduction of a single 3 MW stack, Hydrogenics continues to demonstrate that its hydrogen-based energy storage technology will transform the energy sector by providing ancillary and grid balancing services to grid operators while converting large scale renewable energy at a utility scale.