Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPTResearch project "CFE Pilot"
Green hydrogen as a joint German-Australian project
Green hydrogen is a central component of the energy transition, both at national and European level. In order to meet the future demand for hydrogen, the industry must greatly expand its production capacities. To help it achieve this goal, the German-Australian project initiative "HyGATE" will develop a highly efficient hydrogen electrolyzer. In this project, researchers are building a pilot plant on a 200 kW scale. In addition to developing the technology for water electrolysis, the partners are establishing a supply chain for materials and production machines – with the aim of bringing German technologies to the Australian market. In return, the technology transfer should make it possible to supply green hydrogen and efficient electrolyzers to Germany.
Capillary-fed technology for water electrolysis
The unique selling point of electrolyzers with capillary-fed technology is the supply of water through the capillary structures. The water reaches the electrodes of the electrolyzer cell via a low-resistance separator. The electrodes convert the water directly into hydrogen and oxygen gas without gas bubbles forming in the liquid. This distinguishes the concept from other electrolyzers, whose reaction product is gas bubbles that move in the liquid and, thus, form a two-phase flow. In a capillary-fed electrolyzer cell (CFE), the gases are collected directly in the cell. This eliminates the complex and expensive technical systems of conventional cells, which transport the foam-like two-phase flows to a separator that splits them into a liquid and a gas phase.
Three sub-projects for a pilot plant with German-Australian standards
The "HyGATE" project initiative is divided into three sub-projects, which the project consortium is carrying out in parallel:
- The project partner Hysata has already developed an electrolysis cell, which is being optimized by the project partners and scaled up for the 200 kW cell stack. In the project, the partners are now continuing to develop the materials and manufacturing processes for the electrodes, the porous transport layers (PTLs) and the bipolar plates of the cells.
- The Australian and German researchers involved are developing the necessary auxiliary systems for the 200 kW pilot plant. These systems, known as the Balance-of-Plant (BoP), are designed to meet both Australian and European safety standards.
- Together, the project consortium is developing technologies and processes for the large-scale production of cells and stacks, which are being evaluated in a prototype production environment for the 200 kW pilot plant.
Bringing together design, material and process requirements
The CFE bipolar plates are among the main components in the stack. To manufacture them, the project partners have to match the design requirements for the plate geometry to the process conditions and the material properties of the component. Fraunhofer IPT is contributing its expertise in the manufacturing processes of forming, cutting and welding metallic bipolar plates to the project. In particular, the institute is focusing on optimizing the forming of the nickel sheet into a high-performance and low-tolerance bipolar plate.
Project coordinators
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen Germany)
- Hysata Pty Ltd, Port Kembla (Australien)
Project partners
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich
- Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, Dresden
- Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Aachen
- Alantum Europe GmbH, Munich
- Messkonzept GmbH, Frankfurt a.M.
- VAF GmbH, Bopfingen
Funding
The "CFE Pilot" research project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of the "German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Incubator (HyGATE)" program.
Funding reference: 03SF0712A
