On the technical front, the first project year focused on optimizing the electrolysis process , preparing and constructing the pilot plant , and developing a full-stack electrolyzer.
So far, a stable multiple-chamber electrolyzer (ELZ) was successfully (re-)designed, with strong chemical and mechanical robustness, with reduced energy consumption and improved acid and base production efficiency over earlier prototypes. This resulted in a reliable, durable, and scalable ELZ-1 architecture and membrane configuration, establishing clear performance benchmarks, particularly for output-to-energy ratios. Testing of this ELZ configuration as the ELZ-2 class system in the pilot will signal the transition toward TRL 7 and illustrate the CapEx and OpEx optimization pathway.
After team recruitment and equipment procurement, the pilot plant was designed and constructed, including a comprehensive safety philosophy. Electrical pre-commissioning is already completed and the plant is now ready for on-site installation pending permitting approval. Backup locations have also been prepared in case of permit rejection.
The transition from a single-cell ELZ-1 to the multiple-cell ELZ-2 Class stack was successfully completed, assembling a unit with an active area 13 times larger than in ELZ-1, eventually reaching a commercially viable 2,060 cm². The permitting delay is being used to further optimize the baseline design, with the potential to deploy an improved version in the pilot. Assembly, start-up, and shut-down procedures have been established. Commercial gasket and bipolar plate materials were evaluated to minimize energy consumption, and the optimal part configuration was selected. While no major further iterations are required so far, minor optimizations into the future may still reduce CapEx and OpEx.
All of these achievements confirm that Brineworks’s technology is on track to TRL 8 in the context of the project.
