Semcon is assisting Norwegian Hystar in the development of their novel electrolyser technology for green hydrogen production.
The goal is to manufacture up to 150 percent more hydrogen using less energy than is now used in conventional procedures. The project is currently being expanded, with Semcon offering more expertise to automate the manufacture of electrolyser stacks that convert power to hydrogen and oxygen.
While hydrogen production technology based on PEM electrolysers is advanced at the moment, further development of automated and flexible stack production procedures is required to achieve large-scale hydrogen production. Hystar received extra money from the Norwegian Research Council at the end of 2021 for a project aimed at optimizing and automating the production of high-efficiency PEM electrolysers.
Electrolysers can be mass manufactured in the same way as fuel cells are, a field of technology in which Semcon has extensive experience. These ground-breaking mass manufacturing techniques are necessary for Hystar to realize its goal of revolutionizing the electrolyser manufacturing process.
“We are happy and proud to contribute with our expertise in this Nordic collaboration, which ensures that both knowledge and production can be retained and developed in Sweden and our neighbour Norway,” says Robert Eliasson, Area Manager Production Development at Semcon.
The two-year experiment began in February 2022 on a lesser size with the goal of increasing over time. Semcon previously assisted Hystar with stack design knowledge in terms of mechanics and geometry, as well as FEM (Finite Element Method) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) (Computational fluid dynamics).
“We are very excited to continue our collaboration with Semcon, and make sure our electrolysers stacks can be produced cost-effectively, automated, and at high volumes, “ says Alejandro Barnett, CTO at Hystar.