A startup emerging from the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has been awarded a grant to build a 5 kW electrolyzer to be deployed in a British power plant operated by French energy company EDF.
Hadean Energy has been awarded a grant through the Australia-UK Renewable Hydrogen Innovation Partnerships program of AUD 10 million ($6.64 million) to supply a pilot 5 kW electrolyzer with technology that can produce hydrogen at 30% less electricity than existing alkaline and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technologies.
The Victoria-based outfit will collaborate with the UK arm of EOFsoftware company MCG UK, environmental services company Minviro, Cranfield University and Australian software platform provider Certscape will supply the 5 kW pilot electrolysis system.
Hadean said the initiative will enable it to demonstrate its tubular solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology, which it said will pave the way for industrial decarbonization through affordable green hydrogen production.
SOE technology, which uses ceramic tubes with electrodes on the inside and outside, produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water using a combination of heat and electricity. Steam flows into the tubes and when electric current is applied, the steam splits into hydrogen and oxide ions. Ceramic membranes are oxide ion conductors and simultaneously separate oxide ions, like oxygen, from hydrogen under applied voltages. The rest is pure hydrogen.
Hadean said the technology requires less than 40 kWh of electricity to produce a kilogram of hydrogen, while alkaline and PEM alternatives require about 60 kWh/kg of hydrogen.
“In a world where efficiency wins, Hadean has a clear advantage,” said Chris Rowland, CEO of Hadean. “Our technology is 30% more efficient than existing electrolysers and produces hydrogen with less than 40 kWh per kilogram at system level.”
It is expected that the electrolyser will be built at Hadean’s facility in Melbourne before being shipped to the UK.
The EDF installation is the second planned trial of the technology in an industrial setting with Hadean to install a pilot scale demonstration plant at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks on the New South Wales south coast. That four-month trial period is expected to start in the coming months.
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