Highly dynamic and efficient large-scale pressurized alkaline electrolyzer

Today, 96 % of hydrogen is produced from fossil sources such as natural gas, oil or coal. In the near future, hydrogen produced in a climate-neutral way will play an important role in transport, for seasonal energy storage and as a feedstock for the chemical industry.

Today, there are two processes for climate-neutral production which are used on an industrial scale (> 1 MW electrical), these are Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis (PEMEL) and Alkaline Electrolysis (AEL). Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has developed an alkaline pressurised electrolysis system that can be industrially produced at competitive costs. During this time, the demand has developed towards high dynamics (fast start-up and shutdown with long operational lifetime) and efficiency.

With innovative improvements (zero-gap, cell-specific electrolyte distribution, constructive innovations) the functionality can be improved. Detailed knowledge of the processes within the electrolytic cells is necessary in order to design these precisely. Since these can hardly be measured, multiphysics simulations are necessary that show the transient interaction of flow, electric field and solid-state behaviour. These findings are used to design the solutions in detail, then testing them using prototypes test rigs and then upscaling these to bring forward industrial products.

Such re-designs give the electrolyser several unique selling points in terms of dynamics, efficiency and service life, with respective impact on sales within growing markets.