Hydrogen Central

Bloom Energy Unveils Electrolyzer to Supercharge the Path to Low-Cost, Net-Zero Hydrogen

bloom energy electrolyzer hydrogen

Bloom energy unveils electrolyzer to supercharge the path to low-cost, net-zero hydrogen.

Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) unveiled the Bloom Electrolyzer; the most energy-efficient electrolyzer to produce clean hydrogen to date and 15 to 45 percent more efficient than any other product on the market.

The Bloom Electrolyzer relies on the same, commercially proven and proprietary solid oxide technology platform used by Bloom Energy Servers to provide on-site electricity at high fuel efficiency. Highly flexible, it offers unique advantages for deployment across a broad variety of hydrogen applications, using multiple energy sources including intermittent renewable energy and excess heat.

Superior Value at High Temperatures

Low-cost electrolysis has been difficult to achieve due to electricity costs, which can account for nearly 80 percent of the cost of hydrogen production through electrolysis. An opportunity has emerged, as renewable energy costs have declined precipitously over the last decade. Any reduction in electricity requirements makes hydrogen production more economical and scalable.

Because it operates at high temperatures, the Bloom Electrolyzer requires less energy to break up water molecules and produce hydrogen. As a result, Bloom Energy’s electrolyzer consumes 15 percent less electricity than other electrolyzer technologies to make hydrogen when electricity is the sole input source.

Unlike low-temperature PEM and alkaline electrolyzers that predominantly require electricity to make hydrogen, the Bloom Electrolyzer can leverage both electricity and heat to produce hydrogen. Bloom Energy’s high-temperature electrolyzer technology has the potential to use up to 45 percent less electricity when integrated with external heat sources than low-temperature PEM and alkaline electrolyzers.

KR Sridhar, founder, chairman, and CEO, Bloom Energy.

The launch of the Bloom Electrolyzer is a big leap forward in our mission to enable and empower the global hydrogen economy and a decarbonized society.

“Hydrogen enables us to leverage abundant and inexpensive renewable energy to provide zero-carbon power, reliably—instead of intermittently. Given its efficiency and input options to make hydrogen, Bloom Energy’s electrolyzer is expected to produce hydrogen at a lower price than any alternative on the market today.”

Decarbonizing Heavy Industries

High-temperature electrolysis unlocks substantial value with heat-intensive processing applications in hard-to-decarbonize heavy industries, like steel, chemical, cement, and glass manufacturing. By utilizing excess heat from these processes, hydrogen can be produced at a higher electrical efficiency.

Further, the hydrogen required to power high-temperature furnaces at these factories can be produced on-site using Bloom Energy electrolyzers, eliminating transportation and distribution costs.

Optimizing Intermittent Renewables

When the Bloom Electrolyzer is paired with intermittent renewable resources, such as wind and solar, the resulting green hydrogen provides an important storage mechanism. Hydrogen can be stored for long periods of time and transported over long distances. Alternatively, Bloom Energy’s fuel cells can convert this hydrogen to electricity, thereby providing continuous, reliable power.

Gigawatt Production and Scale

Bloom Energy began manufacturing in the U.S. in 2001 and now supports more than 1,500 American clean energy jobs. Bloom Energy’s Sunnyvale, California and Newark, Delaware manufacturing facilities are capable of producing 500 megawatts of electrolyzers today and a gigawatt within a year.

Since the Bloom Electrolyzer utilizes the same solid oxide platform as the company’s core fuel cell product, utilizing many of the same components, Bloom Energy can scale and leverage supply chain synergies.

Enabling and Empowering the Global Hydrogen Economy

Bloom Energy’s technology dates to the 1980s, when the co-founders first developed electrolyzers to support the military and later NASA’s Mars exploration programs. In the early 2000s, 19 patents were awarded to Bloom Energy for its electrolyzer technology.

With reduced renewable energy costs and the global movement to decarbonize, Bloom Energy believes this is the right moment to commercialize its hydrogen technology. Collaborating with industry-leading organizations, Bloom Energy celebrated several milestones over the past year:

First announced electrolyzer pilot: In November 2020, Bloom Energy announced it will supply its electrolyzers to an industrial complex in Changwon, Korea in collaboration with its Korean partner, SK EcoPlant. Supporting the Changwon RE100 initiative to create renewable ecosystems, the new project paves the way for South Korea to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The units will ship to Changwon in mid-2022.

Harnessing excess nuclear energy: In May 2021, Bloom Energy announced its collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to test the use of nuclear energy to create clean hydrogen through the Bloom Electrolyzer.

Rather than ramping down power generation when an electric grid has surplus energy, the Bloom Electrolyzer can use the excess electricity and steam generated by nuclear plants to produce low-cost, zero-carbon hydrogen, providing clean energy for use when it’s needed while simultaneously offering nuclear power plants a source of revenue for their excess power.

The units are undergoing testing in Bloom Energy’s laboratories and are expected to ship to INL in Q3.

Integrating hydrogen solutions: In May 2021, Bloom Energy announced a collaboration with energy technology company Baker Hughes to explore commercialization and deployment collaborations in many areas, including integrated hydrogen solutions, to advance the energy transition.

The companies will look to pair the Bloom Electrolyzer with Baker Hughes’ compression technology for efficient production, compression, transport, and storage of hydrogen. They will also assess excess heat utilization for steam generation to further increase efficiency and cost effectiveness of hydrogen production and target applications like blending hydrogen into natural gas networks alongside on-site hydrogen production for industrial use.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

Highlights:

  • Expected to produce the lowest cost clean hydrogen through electrolysis
  • Utilizes solid oxide technology and delivers superior efficiency advantage operating at high temperatures
  • Unlocks a net-zero emissions future for hard-to-decarbonize heavy industries
  • Accepting orders with commercial shipment expected fall 2022

Bloom Energy Unveils Electrolyzer to Supercharge the Path to Low-Cost, Net-Zero Hydrogen, San Jose, Calif., July 14, 2021

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