A new alkaline model from China’s leading electrolyser manufacturer, which is more effective than the majority of Western machines, has been introduced. This development fuels the growing interest among Chinese manufacturers in important green technology.
The Longi Hydrogen launch comes amid a push by Chinese OEMs across critical energy transition technologies, including in renewable power where its manufacturers are releasing enormous wind turbine models dwarfing those seen in Europe or the US and raising concerns about Western players’ ability to compete. Longi Hydrogen is a sister company of global PV giant Longi Solar.
Longi Hydrogen has unveiled a new alkaline electrolyser model called ALK Hi1 Plus, which it claims can split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen with extraordinary efficiency, producing one normal cubic metre (Nm3) of H2 with just 4kWh of electricity. According to research firm BloombergNEF, Longi Hydrogen currently has 1.5GW of electrolyser manufacturing capacity and will have 2.5GW by the end of this year. (Nm3 is a standard unit of measurement for one cubic meter of unpressurized gas at zero degrees Celsius)
Concerns regarding the future of the European electrolyser manufacturing industry were raised when BNEF reported last year that alkaline electrolysers built in China could be purchased for up to 75% less money while being just as effective as their Western counterparts.
The new electrolyser from Longi would make it one of the most effective alkaline machines ever.
