Descripción del proyecto
Un futuro de color de rosa para el hidrógeno ecológico
Uno de los grandes retos mundiales del siglo XXI es abastecer la cada vez mayor demanda de energía que precisa la actividad humana. El hidrógeno ecológico, o el producido mediante recursos energéticos renovables, es una de las opciones posibles, lo que hace que muchos países y economías investiguen los electrolizadores. Estos dispositivos disocian el agua en hidrógeno y oxígeno mediante electricidad. Una de las tres tecnologías principales en el mercado, la electrólisis del agua por membrana de intercambio de aniones (AEMWE) combina los beneficios de las otras dos, pero su rendimiento merma su competitividad comercial. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos NEWELY propone una redefinición de la tecnología AEMWE, para aumentar considerablemente su eficacia hasta duplicar la ofrecida por los sistemas más modernos. La nueva pila de combustible logrará reducir en gran medida el coste de la electrólisis del agua y aumentar la competitividad del hidrógeno ecológico.
Objetivo
Green hydrogen is one of the most promising solutions for the decarbonisation of society. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is already a mature technology but its large footprint makes it inadequate for producing the energy vector at GW scale. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) on the other hand is compact but its dependence on iridium and other expensive materials poses a serious threat for up-scaling. Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) combines the benefits of both technologies. However, its key performance indicators (KPI) do not reach commercial requirements and are lacking competitiveness. NEWELY project aims to redefine AEMWE, surpassing the current state of AWE and bringing it one step closer to PEMWE in terms of efficiency but at lower cost. The three main technical challenges of AEMWE: membrane, electrodes and stack are addressed by 3 small-medium-enterprises (SME) with their successful markets related to each of these topics. They are supported by a group of 7 renowned R&D centres with high expertise in polymer chemistry and low temperature electrolysis. The SMEs and one of the largest hydrogen companies in the world will oversee that the new developments have a clear commercial perspective, placing Europe at the lead of AEMWE technology in three years. In this period , the NEWELY consortium will develop a prototypic 5-cell stack with elevated hydrogen output pressure. It will contain highly conductive and stable anionic membranes as well as efficient and durable low-cost electrodes. It will reach twice the performance of the state of the art of AEMWE operating with pure water feedstock only. The targeted performance of the NEWELY prototype will be validated in a 2,000 hours endurance test. The new AEMWE stack will lead to a significant cost reduction of water electrolysis having a relevant impact in the cost of green hydrogen.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.3.8.2. - Increase the energy efficiency of production of hydrogen mainly from water electrolysis and renewable sources while reducing operating and capital costs, so that the combined system of the hydrogen production and the conversion using the fuel cell system can compete with the alternatives for electricity production available on the market
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
51147 Koln
Alemania