DLR and ZSW are planning a test and innovation center for water electrolysis.
The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) are planning to build a test and innovation center for water electrolysis.
Both institutions have signed a memorandum on this subject. The joint ElyLAB test centre is intended to combine expertise in all available electrolysis technologies under one roof. DLR and ZSW are thus pooling their decades of experience in obtaining hydrogen through electrolysis.
Test and innovation centre supports expansion of the hydrogen economy
The DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics and the ZSW are planning to establish standardized test methods for all electrolysis technologies with the ElyLAB test and innovation center. From 2023, DLR and ZSW want to offer these as a service.
The aim is to shorten development times in order to accelerate the transition to hydrogen as an energy carrier.
Andreas Friedrich from the DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, said:
With the joint knowledge and technology breadth of DLR and ZSW, we want to support industrial partners and companies.
“Uniform test procedures and rapid aging tests make it possible to evaluate and certify components and systems neutrally. This includes material analyses, component tests and practical testing of entire systems in the megawatt range.”
Future demand for “green” hydrogen requires industrial-grade electrolysis plants
The economical production of “green” hydrogen from renewable energies on an industrial scale is a central component of the energy transition. In order to National Hydrogen Strategy and the Green Deal the European Union , an expansion of electrolysis capacities by around a factor of 50 is necessary.
This requires electrolysis plants with capacities of several megawatts. This requires industrial-grade materials, components and complete systems. The size of the electrolysis modules and their industrial series production are challenging.
For the industrial expansion of the hydrogen economy, uniform test and cross-technology analysis options are necessary. “So far, there is little experience of how electrolysers can be evaluated neutrally. For example, there is still a lack of generally accepted methods to investigate the aging of components,” explains Friedrich.
That Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg supports the cooperation project ElyLAB with a feasibility study. The scientists record the necessary boundary conditions for the test center and identify suitable locations in the greater Stuttgart area. Results are expected by the middle of the year.
The Stuttgart Region is the “Green Hydrogen Model Region”
Part of the study is also to integrate the test center into hydrogen infrastructures in the greater Stuttgart area from 2024. The Stuttgart Region was nominated for the funding programme “Model Region Green Hydrogen” of Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg and the European Union.
As a result, local distribution networks can be used and regional customers can be served with hydrogen. This includes, for example, the automotive and supplier industry as well as mobility and transport service providers.
Bundled competencies: Producing, storing and using hydrogen
Decades of experience of DLR and ZSW are incorporated into the ElyLAB cooperation project. DLR is active in all areas of hydrogen research and along the entire process chain – from generation to storage and use. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.
To this end, the DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics is researching highly efficient water electrolysers and fuel cells.
Highlights:
- DLR and ZSW sign memorandum for a joint test and innovation centre for electrolysers to produce hydrogen.
- Standardized test procedures as a service are intended to support the development and construction of electrolysis plants up to the megawatt scale.
- A feasibility study clarifies the necessary framework conditions and identifies suitable locations in the greater Stuttgart area.
- Focus: Energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, hydrogen, climate change
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
DLR and ZSW plan test and innovation centre for water electrolysis, March 30, 2022
