Electrolysis
Assembly Line
Quest One and MAN Energy Solutions open new gigahub
Electrolysis specialist Quest One, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions, has opened its new ‘Gigahub’ for the serial and automated production of electrolysis stacks in Hamburg.
The hydrogen technology specialist is starting the serial and automated production of so-called PEM electrolysis stacks for the production of green hydrogen at the new site. PEM electrolysis, which is based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, is one of the most important processes for industrially scaled hydrogen production from renewable energies. The series production is an important step towards making green hydrogen available in large quantities and thus becoming a reliable alternative to fossil fuels. The climate-neutral conversion of the industry with its high energy requirements is an important area of application. The new production and development site plays a central role in realising the Quest One mission of avoiding one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through the use of its own electrolysers.
Electrolysis helps resolve battery production’s waste issue
Sodium sulphate is a by-product resulting from the use of sulfuric acid and caustic soda during the refinement of critical metals for manufacturing common cathodes, including nickel-manganese-cobalt. It is also created during battery recycling—the Argonne National Lab’s EverBatt model estimates that 800kg is produced per 1,000kg of battery materials processed. Sodium sulphate does have limited commercial use, but the uptick in EV battery production means that responsibly disposing of greater quantities becomes difficult.
The potential for cleaner electrified chemical processing, Hackl adds, has “massive” potential. “There are many different ways to approach this in automotive—from green hydrogen to carbon capture—but we wanted to pick the area that addressed the actual problems of suppliers today.” As such, in 2021, Hackl and Akuzum co-founded Aepnus Technology—as Chief Executive and Chief Technology Officer, respectively—to reduce emissions in battery supply chain chemicals through ultra-efficient electrolysis.
Aepnus Technology’s solution was to develop a new electrolyser—a stack of metal electrodes separated by membranes and fed aqueous feedstocks, which are then turned into desired chemical products through the application of electricity. “This is how we can take sodium sulphate and transform it back into the two chemical reagent workhorses of the battery industry: sulfuric acid and caustic soda,” explains Hackl. Essentially, the company takes what was formerly a waste product bound for landfill and reintroduces its constituent parts to the supply chain.
Inside a Green-Hydrogen Pilot Plant
The process that Verdagy’s technology facilitates is called alkaline water electrolysis. An electrolyte solution, in this case potassium hydroxide (KOH), is pumped through an electrolyzer, which adds electricity to the mix, splitting the water molecules into hydrogen on the negatively charged (cathode) side and oxygen on the positively charged (anode) side.
The KOH isn’t consumed, so it gets mixed with new water, to replace what was split, and pumped back into the electrolyzer to continue the process. Verdagy CTO Tom McWaid says the electrolyte’s role is simply to increase the conductivity of the water and make the process more energy efficient.
This process takes place within Verdagy’s “smart cells,” which work together to make up one of the electrolyzers. Each cell can be monitored in real time, turned up or down to respond to fluctuating energy costs, and can be swapped out or serviced when needed. Multiple electrolyzers can be put together to increase the output of a green-hydrogen plant.
Colorado School of Mines Wins OEDIT Proof of Concept Award in Partnership with Utility Global
Utility Global, the company pioneering the eXERO™ technology platform optimized to decarbonize hard-to-abate industry sectors, announced that Colorado School of Mines, in partnership with Utility Global, has secured a $150,000 proof of concept award from the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade for a proposal submitted by Dr. Neal Sullivan entitled “Hydrogen production and CO2 utilization with eXERO ceramics.” This grant will significantly accelerate the advancement and commercialization of Utility Global’s eXERO technology and create multiple jobs between Colorado School of Mines and the Utility Global Advanced Technology Center just outside Denver, further accelerating growth of the Center and commercialization of eXERO technology.
The eXERO (Electroless Coupled Exchange Reduction Oxidation) technology platform simplifies the electrolysis process by eliminating the need for electrical connects and external circuitry in the reactor – a new “green” paradigm. Without the requirement for electricity, the platform eliminates the entire electrical infrastructure from renewable source through to the electrolyzer and the reactor internals – allowing the platform to process dilute offgas streams into H2 in a single reactor and thereby decarbonize existing infrastructure and processes.
Making steel with electricity
Boston Metal is seeking to clean up the steelmaking industry using an electrochemical process called molten oxide electrolysis (MOE), which eliminates many steps in steelmaking and releases oxygen as its sole byproduct.
Boston Metal’s molten oxide electrolysis process takes place in modular MOE cells, each the size of a school bus. Iron ore rock is fed into the cell, which contains the cathode (the negative terminal of the MOE cell) and an anode immersed in a liquid electrolyte. The anode is inert, meaning it doesn’t dissolve in the electrolyte or take part in the reaction other than serving as the positive terminal. When electricity runs between the anode and cathode and the cell reaches around 1,600 degrees Celsius, the iron oxide bonds in the ore are split, producing pure liquid metal at the bottom that can be tapped. The byproduct of the reaction is oxygen, and the process doesn’t require water, hazardous chemicals, or precious-metal catalysts.
The production of each cell depends on the size of its current. Lambotte says with about 600,000 amps, each cell could produce up to 10 tons of metal every day. Steelmakers would license Boston Metal’s technology and deploy as many cells as needed to reach their production targets.
Analysis of Electroless Coupled Exchange Reduction Oxidation Technology
Utility Global Inc. (UG) is leading the development of a novel ‘electroless X: coupled exchange reduction oxidation’ (eXERO) technology towards enabling a circular carbon economy. Feedstock for eXERO technology includes renewable natural gas, effluent gases from production streams of steel, refineries or biogas, and carbon-rich solid waste such as biomass. Operated in H2GenTM (h2G) mode, enriched carbon dioxide (CO2) and high-purity hydrogen (H2) can be produced without added electric power. Product CO2 can be used to operate eXERO in CO-GenTM (COGen) mode to execute the water gas shift reaction across a ceramic membrane to produce green carbon monoxide (CO) and water vapor (H2O) as a harmless byproduct. The electrochemical equivalence in COGen mode provides 1:1 molar conversion of excess H2 in feedstock to green CO without added electric power. Low-cost ammonia (NH3) can be cracked by steam without added electric power to convert NH3 to nitrogen (N2), H2O, and high-purity H2 as a product stream by running eXERO in Am2H2 mode. Experimental runs of eXERO in H2Gen mode have been conducted over the past four years. In this study, ORNL examined recently conducted experiments in the year 2023 and large-scale pilot runs conducted in the year 2022.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Utility Global Inc. (UG) agreed to enter into a strategic partnership under contract NFE-23-09559. A document with summarized measurements and predictions was provided to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for independent verification of first- and secondlaw conservation.
The key objective of this project is to conduct an independent analysis of UG’s eXERO technology. Additionally, ORNL will perform 3D multiphysics modelling of the cell to understand and optimize the key operating parameters in generating 99.9+% pure hydrogen. The first objective of this work is to conduct first and second law analysis of the eXERO technology and independently verify the measured performance data, provided by UG.