The highest-current water electrolyzer demonstration since the 1980s was successfully conducted by Hydrogen Optimized, a division of KEY DH Technologies
Large-scale Green Hydrogen production has never been easier thanks to the 50,000-amp RuggedCell unipolar electrolyzer, which paves the road for commercialization of single electrolysis modules up to 100 MW. At Hydrogen Optimized’s High-Current Demonstration Center in Owen Sound, Ontario, a demonstration was performed.
Hydrogen Optimized is developing its manufacturing capabilities in parallel with its ongoing technological development and demonstration activities, enabling future production at its Owen Sound plant of hundreds of megawatts of electrolyzers each year and eventually up to 2 GW of yearly output. According to demand growth predictions for large-scale Green Hydrogen generation, the company foresees building additional new manufacturing facilities in other markets.
In Europe’s premier power analytics company, Aurora Energy Research, the installed base of water electrolyzers is expected to rise from 0.2 MW today to over 200 GW by 2040, a thousand-fold increase. By 2025, “normal” electrolyzer project sizes will expand to 100-500 MWs and 1 GW by 2030, according to the company’s estimates. Hydrogen Optimized anticipates that its high-current unipolar technique will be a category-leading option for Aurora-scale projects in the next years.
Hydrogen Optimized has gradually increased the maximum ampere rating of its technology since launching its RuggedCell high-current electrolyzer development program in 2017. To date, a total of $10 million has been invested in technological development, with an additional $12 million in investment expected over the following three years.
On June 8, 2021, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) announced a grant of $4.8 million to help fund future expenditures. This grant will be supplemented by funding from the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) Industry Grants, as well as other sources currently being developed and investors.
