Project description
High-performance and low-degradation alkaline electrolysers
Alkaline electrolysers often operate at over 2 V per cell, consuming more than 54 kWh of energy per kilogram of hydrogen. While platinum-group metals (PGMs) enhance performance, their high cost hinders widespread adoption. Additionally, electrode degradation reduces efficiency, increasing capital costs due to the need for larger heat management systems. Reducing this degradation could lower operating expenses and improve the cost of hydrogen (LCOH). The EU-funded ENDURE project aims to develop a PGM-free alkaline electrolyser stack with proton exchange membrane (PEM)-like performance and low degradation. The project will create advanced porous transport electrodes (PTEs) to significantly enhance kinetics and mass transport. Using scalable methods, it will also apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and advanced X-ray tomography to introduce novel PGM-free electrocatalysts.
Objective
Today’s alkaline electrolysers are typically operating at voltages exceeding 2 V/cell, corresponding to electrolyser power consumption >54 kWh/kg. Improved performance is often achieved by incorporating platinum-group metals (PGM) in electrode coatings, but the wider adoption of such approach is severely hindered by the limited availability and high cost of PGM. Not only does electrode degradation negatively affect the efficiency of the electrolyser stack, but also the efficiency of the entire system. Degradation also negatively affects CAPEX: due to degradation, the amount of waste heat that needs to be removed from the stack increases, which means that electrolyser components need to be significantly oversized. If electrolyser degradation rate could be reduced, it would result in two-fold benefits: 1) lower operating expenditures via lower energy consumption over electrolyser lifetime, 2) lower capital expenditures via lower level of oversizing of balance-of-plant components needed. Both would positively affect the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH).
We aim to develop a PGM-free alkaline electrolyser stack with PEM-like performance and low degradation rate. Proposed innovations:
• Development of 3D structured, laterally graded, flow-engineered, monolithic porous transport electrodes (PTE), drastically improving electrode kinetics and mass transport compared to state-of-the-art cells
• Multi-level computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling coupled with advanced X-ray tomography
• Novel PGM-free high performance electrocatalysts fabricated using inherently scalable methods
• Stack-level improvements and performance validation using 100cm2 and 1000cm2 stack platforms, and benchmarking with state-of-the-art
• Building upon the work done by the JRC, the development of harmonised test protocols and accelerated testing procedures for alkaline water electrolysers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis electrocatalysis
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-JTI-CLEANH2-2023-1
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
10621 TALLINN
Estonia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.