Hydrogen Optimized, a Key DH Technologies subsidiary, has signed a Letter of Intent with a large industrial company to provide more than 40 MW of RuggedCell water electrolyser capacity for hydrogen production.

To meet its long-term goal of deploying hundreds of megawatts of electrolyser capacity, the company has agreed to use the LoI to deploy high current unipolar RuggedCell systems at one or more locations. As demand for hydrogen rises, the installed systems can be expanded.

“The signing of this LOI is a significant step forward in our commercialization process,” said Andrew T. B. Stuart, President and CEO of Hydrogen Optimized. “A key factor underlying the agreement is our system’s unique capability to double or more in capacity without requiring the installation of costly additional electrical and other equipment.”

Stuart added, “More and more potential clients tell us they are looking for a water electrolysis system that can be economically deployed in the tens of megawatts and can be expanded at a relatively low incremental cost as the MW rating of the project grows. The RuggedCell system makes this possible as it requires fewer power conditioning units to accommodate expansion. This contrasts with small module systems that must be fully replicated to increase output, and therefore cannot gain economies of scale.”

Ammonia, cement, methanol, steel, heavy-duty transportation, and other fossil-fuel-intensive industries are driving the widespread use of water electrolysis to reduce carbon intensity. It is widely accepted that achieving “net zero” emissions by 2050 will require hydrogen produced with low or no carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, the World Hydrogen Council recently called for hydrogen to contribute over 20% to global carbon abatement by 2050.