Green hydrogen plays a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions across many sectors, including transport, building heating, electricity generation and, consequently, energy-intensive industries. However, its large-scale deployment continues to be limited by high production costs and, in particular, by the need for cost-effective and highly active electrocatalysts.
The first presentation in the session will introduce the various types of electrolysers used for hydrogen production and classify them according to their technical maturity. Based on the technical fundamentals, opportunities and challenges for electroplating in the manufacture of components for electrolysers will be discussed.
PEM electrolysers are ideally suited to the production of green hydrogen due to their high power density, the possibility of rapid load cycling and their suitability for fluctuating operation. However, the high investment costs – arising in particular from expensive precious metals – still need to be significantly reduced to enable cost-effective production. In particular, the iridium contained in the anode is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust. As part of the IREKA collaborative project – funded by the BMFTR and led by the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis Research – the Fraunhofer IPA has been developing electrochemical deposition processes for iridium oxide layers since 2021. The aim was to significantly reduce the use of expensive and rare iridium without compromising electrochemical activity and durability. A presentation at the conclusion of the project will outline the final results and highlight the steps still required for transfer to industrial application.
Anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis is a promising technology for sustainable and cost-effective hydrogen production. It offers a dynamic operating mode and does not rely on precious-metal catalysts, making it significantly more cost-effective than comparable technologies.
As part of the BMFT-funded ‘AEM-Direkt’ project aimed at developing efficient, scalable and cost-effective AEM electrolysers, a chemical deposition process was developed for producing NiP catalyst layers on anion-exchange membranes that are firmly adhered and stable under electrolysis conditions; this will be presented in the following talk.
Another project focuses on the electrochemical deposition of long-lasting Ni-S catalysts for AEM electrolysis. The results highlight their potential as efficient and scalable electrodes for this application.