(Invited) Challenges and Successes of an Industrial Start-up to Global Electrolyzer Company

Abstract

Hydrogen generation via electrolysis has gained much attention internationally as not only a sustainable source of fuel for the transportation, but as a carrier of energy to capture stranded renewable energy due to the carbon-free chemical cycle and response characteristics of the technology. The barrier to entry preventing this technology from being widely adopted is the overall cost associated with both the upfront capital expense as well as the operating cost incurred over the product life. The majority of this cost is driven by 1) low electrical efficiencies due to the high ohmic resistance of thicker membranes required by electrolysis systems to electrochemically compress generated hydrogen for storage and the overpotential associated with the water splitting oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts typically used, 2) high cost of system and cell stack materials, which need to be durable for up to 100,000hrs at potentials approaching 2V in both reducing and oxidizing environments, and 3) the lack of a robust supply chain for high volume manufacturing to further drive down cost through economies of scale.Nel Hydrogen has worked to commercialize this technology, originally developed for aerospace and miliary applications where cost and efficiency were not the drivers. Since the founding of Proton Energy Systems in 1996 and to the present as Nel Hydrogen we have worked to address these problem areas in an attempt to develop products that can serve cost sensitive markets, such as energy capture and storage. During this talk, I will look back on the challenges we faced as an industrial start-up dealing with uninterested suppliers, creating relationships, and establishing partnerships, all while developing our first 28cm2 products to the point today, where we are producing and siting multi-MW systems.