Smoltek aims to make today’s electrolysers for fossil-free hydrogen production more efficient.
Hydrogen is predicted to be one of the keys in the future energy transition, as, among other things, major investments are made in using hydrogen for the production of fossil-free steel.
Smoltek’s technology concept for creating more efficient surface material performance in electrolysers for the production of fossil-free hydrogen can lead to more efficient and cheaper operation of hydrogen plants.
It is mainly in the transport sector, where major efforts are now being made to use hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, and in heavy industry, such as the steel industry, cement industry and petrochemical industry, where serious investment has begun in fossil-free hydrogen production.
But hydrogen is expected to be the energy source for many large industries’ transition to more fossil-free production. This is something that will require huge production of hydrogen. But in order to increase productivity and also reduce the cost of hydrogen production, today’s technology needs to be improved – and then it is the electrolyzers that come into focus.
New technology in electrolysis for more efficient hydrogen production
Smoltek has identified the hydrogen market as a first area outside semiconductors, where the company’s proprietary nanotechnology can prove to have great potential. By improving surface performance in boundary layers between membranes, flow plates and electrodes in today’s electrolysis cells, these can become much more surface efficient, which could result in both cheaper and increased hydrogen production.
“Many people today talk about the challenge of storing and distributing hydrogen, but far fewer seem to be interested in modernizing production technology,” says Ellinor Ehrnberg, Business Area Manager for Smoltek Innovation.
The hydrogen production technology that Smoltek has targeted is called PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane).
In addition to the PEM process providing very clean hydrogen, a great advantage is that it can already handle higher current density and more varied load than alkaline electrolysis cells, which makes PEM work well together with intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
The unique thing about Smoltek’s technology concept is that it is possible to place the catalytic nanoparticles of platinum or iridium, for example, on an optimal nanostructure for the electrolysis cell, allowing more and better mass transport of the products that occur, in this case oxygen and hydrogen.
“Today, for example, very expensive and noble catalyst materials are used that do not come into full contact with the membrane, while Smoltek’s technology enables them to be structured for optimized contact and thus reach full power with less precious particles,” explains Ellinor Ehrnberg,
“With Smoltek’s technology, you should be able to produce two to three times more hydrogen per cell compared to existing technology. This is because two to three times more catalyst particles can be in contact with the membrane at the same time thanks to us optimizing the surface layer,” says Ellinor Ehrnberg.
Smoltek’s goal in 2021 is to complete the technical proof-of-concept for carbon nanofiber cell components and to initiate development cooperation with a large-scale manufacturer of electrolysis and/or its components based on Smoltek’s basic IP platform with specific intangible protection in electrolysis technology.
As part of this initiative, Smoltek has recently presented a whitepaper on the company’s electrolysis technology for cheaper and more efficient hydrogen production, which will increase understanding of the technology’s capabilities among potential customers and partners.
Smoltek aims to make today’s electrolysers for fossil-free hydrogen production more efficient, June 24, 2021