Direct production of highly pressurised hydrogen from electrolytic water splitting can allow saving relevant amounts of energy compared to down-stream gas compression. The aim of this project is to develop a novel polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser able to produce hydrogen at very high pressure (200 bar) thus reducing the post-compression energy consumption. Another goal is to develop a cost-effective technology allowing to achieve large-scale application of PEM electrolysers. A significant reduction of capital costs is achieved by critical raw materials minimisation, developing cheap coated bipolar plates and operating the electrolyser at a high production rate while assuring high efficiency (about 80% vs. HHV) and safe operation. ADVANCEPEM aims at developing a set of breakthrough solutions at materials, stack and system levels to increase hydrogen pressure to 200 bar and current density to 5 A cm-2 for the base load, while keeping the nominal energy consumption <50 kWh/kg H2. Reinforced Aquivion® polymer membranes with enhanced conductivity, high glass transition temperature and increased crystallinity, able to withstand high differential pressures, are developed for this application. The approach is to operate the innovative membrane at high temperature 90-120 °C under high pressure to allow increasing energy efficiency. To mitigate hydrogen permeation to the anode and related safety issues, efficient recombination catalysts are integrated both in the membrane and anode structure. The new technology is validated by demonstrating a high-pressure electrolyser of 50 kW nominal capacity with a production rate of about 24 kg H2/day in an industrial environment. The project will deliver a techno-economic analysis to assess reduction of the electrolyser CAPEX and OPEX. The consortium comprises an electrolyser manufacturer, membrane and catalyst supplier, an MEA developer and an end-user for demonstrating the system.

Water electrolysis supplied by renewable energy is the foremost technology for producing “green” hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. The ability to follow rapidly an intermittent load makes this an ideal solution for grid balancing. To achieve large-scale application of PEM electrolysers, a significant reduction of capital costs is required together with a large increase of production rate and output pressure of hydrogen, while assuring high efficiency and safe operation. To address these challenges, a step-change in PEM electrolysis technology is necessary. The NEPTUNE project develops a set of breakthrough solutions at materials, stack and system levels to increase hydrogen pressure to 100 bar and current density to 4 A cm-2 for the base load, while keeping the nominal energy consumption <50 kWh/kg H2. The rise in stack temperature at high current density will be managed by using Aquivion® polymers for both membrane and ion exchange resin. Aquivion® is characterised by enhanced conductivity, high glass transition temperature and increased crystallinity. Dramatic improvements in the stack efficiency will be realised using novel thin reinforced membranes, able to withstand high differential pressures. An efficient recombination catalyst will solve any gas crossover safety issues. Newly developed electro-catalysts with increased surface area will promote high reaction rates. The novel solutions will be validated by demonstrating a robust and rapid-response electrolyser of 48 kW nominal capacity with a production rate of 23 kg H2/day. The aim is to bring the new technology to TRL5 and prove the potential to surpass the 2023 KPIs of the MAWP 2017. The proposed solutions contribute significantly to reducing the electrolyser CAPEX and OPEX costs. The project will deliver a techno-economic analysis and an exploitation plan to bring the innovations to market. The consortium comprises an electrolyser manufacturer, suppliers of membranes, catalysts and MEAs and an end-user.

The main target of our work is to industrialise the stack production, to deliver affordable fuel cell systems in larger quantities to saturate the emerging market/demand. Heart of our call is to build a worldwide new and unique machine which allows serially* produce the centrepiece of fuel cell system: the stack.This will revolutionize the way how stacks are produced in future. The members of the consortium are: a developer and producer of fuel cell systems (Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH), a supplier of MEAs and BiPolar Plates (BPP) (IRD), a supplier of industrial machinery for assembly, handling and testing equipment (AUMANN), two renowned research institutions (Technische Universitat Chemnitz / ALF, Fraunhofer IWU) and a EU project management expert (Uniresearch B.V.) and last but not least, UPS an international transport OEM with its own vehicle production of Light Commercial Vehicles. The result of our project work can be used for several purposes: Branding, Prototyping and Business development. The stacks can be used outside of automotive industry, because they can be adapted to other applications (such as uninterruptible power sources) by the design of a fuel cell system.