Nel ASA said that its subsidiary in the United States for hydrogen had reached an agreement with General Motors Co. to hasten the industrialization of Nel’s proton exchange membrane electrolyzer platform.
In accordance with the cooperative development agreement, the two businesses hope to establish more affordable sources of renewable hydrogen by fusing Nel’s expertise with the automaker’s fuel-cell know-how.
While a fuel cell performs the process in reverse, using hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity and water, a PEM electrolyzer uses electricity and water to manufacture hydrogen and oxygen.
According to the Norwegian hydrogen firm, GM has made significant progress and accumulated experience with fuel cells, and the two companies believe transferring this technology to Nel’s PEM platform will have significant benefits.
According to Charles Freese, executive director of GM’s Hydrotec hydrogen fuel-cell division, “adding Nel as a strategic collaborator is a crucial step to help us commercialize fuel cell technology.” For reliable, clean sources of hydrogen to power fuel cells, electrolysis is essential.
Nel stated that it will pay GM for the development effort and intellectual property transfer, while no specific financial information was provided. Depending on how much of the finished product is based on GM technology, it will additionally pay a license fee following successful commercialization.
