(Invited) The Evolution of Membrane Electrochemical Cell Stacks and Balance of Plant Integration with Increasing Product Scale and Manufacturing Volume Ramp up

Abstract

As PEM and similar electrochemical devices get further scaled to meet the growing demand for renewable hydrogen solutions, the real-world design elements of electrochemical cell to balance of plant integration are key factors in the timeline for product development and manufacturing volume increases, for the system performance, and for the overall cost of hydrogen. The optimization of both cell components such as porous transport layers and bipolar plates, as well as system components such as AC-DC rectifiers for real devices need to consider and incorporate the existing volume and size constraints within the supply chain. Form factors of cells, number of cells per stack, number of stacks per plant and the corresponding layout of rectifiers, fluid pipes, and phase separators are considerations for optimization in product stack and system design. As the scale of product manufacturing and the scale of individual building blocks increases, the balance of these trades will evolve over time, requiring flexibility in design approaches to meet near term plants in the 10-MW class and medium-term plants in the 100-MW class. The discussion of these inter-relationships will explain how this evolution has proceeded to date and evaluate the impact of decisions made today on future product roll-out.